The Road Not Taken
by gpgurl50
Summary: When Claire goes back in time to save Elle, her relationship with Gretchen is threatened as she struggles to choose between them. Claire/Elle. Claire/Gretchen. Gretchen is a main character because she will simply be in the story more due to the premise.
1. Chapter 1

Title: "The Road Not Taken"

Rating: PG-13 probably.

Pairings: Claire/Elle, Claire/Gretchen

Summary: When Claire goes back in time to save Elle, her relationship with Gretchen is threatened.

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show "Heroes."

Note: Takes place after "Brave New World." I also know Elle went to London between getting fired and showing up in Costa Verde. This will be explained.

Chapter 1

Claire woke up but did not dare open her eyes or move. Moving meant facing her life as it was. If she laid perfectly still she could pretend to live forever in a moment. The moment this particular morning featured Gretchen's legs tangled with her own, pajama pants revealing barely any skin. The intimacy was almost completely gone by now with guilt taking its place. But that was a thought for people who were woken up and moving and Claire was determined not to move. She was laying on top of one of Gretchen's arms which Claire was sure was sore now. The other arm was firmly wrapped around her mid section and her head seemed to rest perfectly tucked under Gretchen's chin. She could feel every relaxed breath enter and leave Gretchen's body.

Claire felt safe, comfortable, happy- loved. It was with that thought that Claire's eyelids finally moved, her eyelashes tickling her sleeping girlfriend's throat as she did so. She pulled away quietly and slowly, careful not to wake Gretchen as she rolled over to face the alarm clock. It was 4:59 am. In one minute the phone would start ringing. That was the agreement.

Claire sat up, swung her legs off the bed and snatched her phone off the nightstand before heading to the kitchen of their apartment. As she turned on the coffee machine, the clock on the microwave flashed '5:00.' The phone started ringing at that exact moment. Time to start the day. Claire answered with a few monosyllabic responses and hung up. She had ten minutes.

Claire moved about the house quietly. She showered, brushed her hair, her teeth and got dressed in absolute silence. She passive aggressively thought about making a loud noise. Shutting the shower door a little too loudly. Or maybe just coughing. But the truth was Claire knew Gretchen would love to be woken up just to spend those few moments with her to talk sleepily for as long as they could. Claire wanted that too but she could not indulge or she may never want to leave and she had to. She brought this on herself.

Claire trudged back into the kitchen and poured the coffee in two mugs. She inhaled the scent deeply and steeled herself before quietly tiptoeing down the hall and lightly nudging the bedroom door open. She placed one of the mugs on the bedside table as she glanced at her nearly motionless girlfriend hidden under a mop of brown hair. Claire sat down on the side of the mattress and gently moved the hair out of Gretchen's face before leaning over and placing a kiss on her temple.

"Morning sweetie," Claire whispered as a faint smile appeared on Gretchen's slowly waking face. Claire's eyes darted to the clock slowly changing to read '5:10 am.' She finally began to wake Gretchen up properly as she gently shook her. "I'm gonna head out now. Got a mission. I'll probably see you tonight."

"Wait. What?" Gretchen asked groggily, sitting up in bed. "You are not going out on another mission."

Gretchen had a warning look on her face that Claire could not acknowledge so Claire simply stood up and put some distance between them.

"I am. Well, I have a briefing right now," Claire said just as Hiro teleported into the bedroom.

"Hello Gretchen and Claire," Hiro nodded to each girl before turning his attention to Claire. "Time to go."

"Claire, please do not leave right now. Hiro, could you give us a second?" Gretchen asked but Claire went to put her hand on Hiro's shoulder.

"We'll talk when I get home." Claire said, nodding to Hiro as a signal to teleport.

"Claire!" Gretchen exclaimed as Claire and Hiro disappeared.

Claire and Hiro were instantly teleported to the Petrelli boardroom that was decorated with dark oak and ornate carvings of lions and gargoyles. Claire could never figure out why her grandmother kept such an intimidating room especially since the people who normally occupied it had a lot bigger things to get scared about.

Her father Noah, Peter, Sylar and Matt Parkman were huddled over some schematics that Claire could not see. Hiro offered her a smile and headed over to examine the papers himself. Angela waved Claire over as she finished wrapping up a phone call. Claire had to hand it to her; Angela seemed to know what she was doing since Claire has outed herself as a special.

Claire took a seat across from Angela's and playfully nudged shoulders with the girl sitting next to her. "What up?"

Monica Dawson put on a fake cheery smile for Claire as she glanced at the newspaper in her hands. "Oh, you know, new organ donors with rapid cellular regeneration. People in the desert negotiating with people with the ability to grow vegetation to end world hunger. A bunch of pre-cog painters are on Oprah today, telling her about the future of her new network. I think she's hoping there's a Nobel Peace Prize in her future."

Monica chuckled on the last part but avoided making eye contact with Claire. Claire knew that trick.

"Monica, what's up?" Claire asked again.

The smile slowly slipped off of Monica's face. "That's what up, Claire."

"What else is up?" Claire said more firmly this time.

Monica sighed finally tossing a sympathetic glance towards Claire. "A family of six in the 'burbs. People broke into their house and killed them because they thought the son had the ability to suck all the oxygen out of a room."

Claire nodded and internalized the pain with the same mantra she always did. 'This is my fault.'

Angela finally hung up the phone and turned her attention to Claire. "Do you still insist on being in on all the missions?"

Claire nearly smirked at the concern almost befitting a conventional grandmother. "I do."

"Then there is no time to waste. You know there has been a terrorist cell of specials growing known as the Lazarus group?" Angela asked. Upon Claire's nod she continued. "They are collecting a variety of different abilities as well as people with duplicate abilities to form their team. They're even going through time to get them. So, we're sending out teams to get powers. Monica and your father are going after someone with the power of persuasion. Hiro will be sending you and the Haitian to pick up Elle Bishop."

"How can y'all tell he's Haitian?" Monica pipped up.

Claire ignored the obvious question for the more present ones. "Elle Bishop? Elle is dead and not just magic healing blood can bring her back dead. She is totally and completely dead. How are we supposed to pick her up?"

"You will go back to a couple months before she died just to ensure the Lazarus group does not screw with any time lines. My sources tell me that Elle spent some time on a beach in Barbuda before she died in between my firing her and her breaking into your house at Costa Verde looking for answers on Pinehearst. That part of the beach is privately owned. You and the Haitian will assume the identities of employees of the owners and wait there. Make sure Elle stays on the path laid out for her." Angela said.

"Make sure she stays on her death path? And Claire and the Haitian are gonna pick her up after she's dead?" Monica asked, looking in between Angela and Claire.

Angela sighed pointedly before narrowing her eyes at Monica. "I'll start the briefing for your mission in a few minutes, Monica."

Monica's face scrunched up in fear before pushing out her chair and stepping away from the conversation.

Once she was out of earshot Angela continued. "If Elle had not shown up at your house at the exact time she did, you might not have gotten on the plane to Pinehearst when you did and would not have been there to help Peter. We cannot step on too many butterflies. You are to keep her on her path and let Sylar cut her head off, but create a distraction that gets him to leave before her body is too burned and decayed to heal with your healing blood. It is important that everyone remain on their current paths so we still end up here. Hiro will pick you up ten minutes after the supposed time of death for Elle and bring you back here to the present approximately 24 hours after we have this conversation. When you bring her back we will get her into counseling and get her help getting caught up on all that's happened. Here's a list of things you should pack."

Claire took the offered list and looked it over. "So, I'll be away for a few months, huh?"

"Don't worry, dear. It's not like you're getting any older." Angela smiled.

Claire did not take comfort in the statement but she did not have much time to feel anything. Angela motioned Hiro over to teleport her back to her apartment.

"Be ready as quickly as possible. There isn't a moment to waste. We'll move Gretchen to a secure location hidden from the Lazarus group until you return." Angela said, nodding to Hiro.

A short blink and they were back in Claire's apartment.

"Have a seat," Claire instructed Hiro, gesturing to the couch. Hiro took up the offer and began looking through a magazine that was left on the coffee table.

Claire went into the bedroom and was surprised to find Gretchen completely awake and dressed.

"We need to talk," Gretchen said. Her eyes widened as she saw Claire heading towards her duffle bag. "You're going on another mission right this second? You just got back from one last night."

"I have to do this," Claire said simply, grabbing some clean clothes and tossing them into the bag. They were washed, dried and folded with care by Gretchen and they actually smelled like her which Claire liked when she was away. Not that she could ever admit it.

"You don't," Gretchen argued, getting off the bed and trying to reach into the duffle to remove the clothes before Claire lightly slapped her hand away. "This non-stop work. Do you see nothing wrong with it? Don't you miss real life at all?"

"Well, I do sort a miss stargazing at night. Does that count?" Claire asked distractedly.

"I could give you stars," Gretchen insisted with her best smile.

"If you're talking about powers just forget it. You are never getting powers. Do you understand me?" Claire said more harshly than she intended but her adrenaline was pumping at the moment at the thought of the mission at hand and the memories that were ambushing her at the thought of seeing Elle again.

"Okay, first of all that was not was I was talking about. Second of all, you have no right to make decisions for me." Gretchen said angrily.

"Like you're trying to make decisions for me?" Claire shot back, opening and closing drawers quickly.

Gretchen closed her eyes. Claire did have a point. "I'm sorry if it is coming out that way but I am not trying to make decisions for you. I'm just concerned about these missions you're on. I'm worried about you."

Claire softened a bit at this. "I can heal. I can't even feel pain. You don't have to worry."

"Don't I?" Gretchen asked, moving towards Claire and trying to stop her frantic hands from moving. "Claire, I love you. My family hasn't said two words to me since I decided to be with you after you jumped off the ferris wheel but it doesn't matter. You're worth it. Being with you is worth it. Even with the life changing ups and downs that come with being your girlfriend there is not a single thing I would change about you or our relationship. Given the choice I'd do it all over again."

"Then what's the problem?" Claire whispered finally taking Gretchen's hands in hers. "Is it because I'm not ready to have sex with you yet? Is that what this is?"

Gretchen flinched in utter shock at Claire's out of the blue accusation.

"Claire, no. That does not bother me. I know what you've been through and we'll wait until you're ready. I don't even care that you haven't been able to tell me you love me lately. But Peter told me last night you made a decision that almost got your head blown off. Blown off to the point of no regeneration and that it's just a series of things like that you've been doing. You have the weight of the world on your shoulders and I don't like what it's doing to you," Gretchen said with tears coming to her eyes.

Claire pulled her hands away and began to pack away her toothbrush and toiletries. "Things are fine, Gretchen. Peter is overreacting. I can't get hurt or feel pain. I can take all the risks no one else can. Some people are becoming celebrities, some are getting targeted by religious fanatics and hounded by reporters. There's a lot of good that's happened in the world since people with abilities have come out and joined together but what I did also caused a huge backlash. Hate crimes are being committed. People are getting hurt. Everyone is saying my brave new world is doing a lot more good than it is harm and it is worth the price some people are facing but I can't live that Gretch. I don't remember how many thousands of people have already been helped by us but I remember everyone that has gotten hurt by my announcement. It's all I think about. I have to do something."

"Then go on these missions but be smart about them. Be a hero for these people. Do not self destruct. Claire you can get hurt even if you can't realize that right now. What if someone were to rape you when you went off by yourself? Kept you hostage? Tortured you mentally and emotionally for years on end? You are not immune to everything. You can get hurt and I can't lose you. I love you," Gretchen said, wiping the tears out of her eyes as Hiro knocked on the bedroom door.

Hiro's voice carried through the door. "It's time to go you two."

Gretchen retrieved her pre-packed overnight bag and left the room quietly.

"I love you too," Claire admitted quietly to herself as she zipped up her bag and headed out the door. Rene was already waiting outside as they all exited the apartment.

"We have to move quickly. There are enemy snipers in the area." Rene said glancing around.

Gretchen raised an eyebrow. "Snipers? That's impossible."

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out. The bullet hit Gretchen in the throat as she slumped to the ground.

"Gretchen!" Claire screamed, trying to get to her but getting pulled back by Rene. Shots continued to ring out but Rene pulled Claire down as Hiro himself crouched down.

"No, we have to help her. She needs my blood. She's needs me. Gretchen? Sweetheart? Don't die," Claire sobbed as Gretchen's eyes glazed over in death. "She needs my blood. She needs me."

"Hiro, get us to our mission location," Rene instructed, still restraining Claire from going to Gretchen.

"No!" Claire yelled and reached out as the view before her changed and suddenly she was crashing into a sandy beach. She tumbled away from Rene but quickly got up and shook his shirt lapels furiously. "What did you do?"

"The right thing. Hiro will see to her." Rene said, letting Claire ineffectually pummel him into the sand.

Claire began to weaken and laid her head against his shoulder. "What if he doesn't?"

"He's Hiro. He'll try. Focus on the mission. Many lives and the fate of the world depends on it," Rene said, standing up. He extended a hand to Claire.

"Based on your decision my girlfriend might be dead," Claire snarled.

Rene did not back down from the fire in her eyes. "Claire, through the years you have become a great friend of mine. You have even saved my life recently which is something I will never forget. You are becoming a strong leader, soldier, spokesman and friend. My father was a strong leader, Claire. It was a thing of work that allowed that to be. I say this as your friend. You are also very stubborn, emotional and easy to lash out. This is not the time for that. You must move past it. Trust Hiro did the right thing."

Claire swiped at her roughly eyes before shakily and tentatively taking his hand. He helped her up and they walked together towards a glass mansion on the beach. A car was pulling up to it.

"The owners live in a glass house? Really?" Claire asked. She could swear that Rene almost smiled at the comment. She had to pull herself together and assume that Hiro got Gretchen to safety and got her some healing blood. He was the best guy she knew and she had to trust him now that she and Rene had been abandoned here for the next couple months. There was nothing else she could do. Besides, if Claire did not pull herself together, Rene might wipe her mind of what happened to Gretchen and Claire was not sure she could deal with losing one memory of Gretchen right now. Even if it was the worst one she could possibly imagine.

Several hundred feet away the car pulled up to the mansion and a couple stepped out in a maid's uniform and a suit probably befitting a butler. Rene ran up to them as they approached the house and waved them over. Confused, they went to him as Claire jogged up to the conversation. Rene handed them a brick of solid gold as he spoke to them. Claire's eyes widened as she realized they must have found Bob Bishop's stash of gold. Using Bob's ability to help save his daughter after he died? For the first time in awhile Claire felt the universe was moving in the right direction. Sure enough, by the time Claire approached the couple took the gold and shook Rene's hand. They reached into the car and handed some uniforms and suits to Rene before getting into their car and driving away.

Once they were merely a speck on the horizon, Rene handed the maid's uniforms to Claire and instructed, "Follow my lead."

They walked over to the door where Rene knocked. Within a few minutes a slightly balding man who looked about fifty years old walked to the door and waved. He was wearing loose fitting clothes covered in beads. Claire could not believe this was the wealthy owner of the beach.

He opened the door with a friendly smile and slight leer at Claire as he motioned them inside. "You must be the people the agency sent."

"Yes," Rene spoke up. "I am Rene Petrelli and this is my niece, Claire."

The man's eyes darted in between Rene and Claire causing Claire to say, "I'm adopted."

'Not a total lie,' Claire thought to herself as the confusion melted off the man's face and he smiled in realization.

"Well, I'm sorry to call you here so late notice. Normally we'd be at our mansion in Austin this time of year but after my company won a new security contract, I used the money to get my beautiful bride an impromptu wedding and honeymoon for a few months here on the beach with the kids." The man smiled. Claire smiled too. It was a nice idea.

"If you're worried about the glass, don't. It's very strong and it comes with some perks." The man turned and pressed a button on the coffee table causing all the glass walls that surrounded the house to tint until they were black. "A great view is nice but I have access to the most cutting edge technology and security systems and it's worth protecting the family. Speaking of which, I'll go get them to introduce to you and then show you to the servants quarters."

The man left the room and Claire took in the aesthetic. Besides the weird glass walls that surrounded the house it all seemed pretty modern. Hardwood floors, bear skin rugs and different types of art accented the room. Many different types of ergonomic furniture littered the living room. The color scheme seemed to clash and rebel against itself. A bunch of different influences coming together and trying to exist as one. A large screen television set hung upon one wall and on the opposite wall was a large library. Claire wondered if it was supposed to be a something for everyone kind of room or just a huge mess. She liked the large two way fireplace though.

"Girls, come on," The man called behind him, pulling his new wife forward who looked significantly younger than him but wore a friendly smile. She was tall and thin with blond flowing hair. If it were not for her blue eyes she would remind Claire of her own biological mother Meredith. "I'm Bernard and this is my new bride, Joanna."

"Nice to meet you," Claire and Rene mumbled in disjointed unison as a girl about age ten ran towards the couple and reached out for what Claire assumed was her mother's hand. She looked like a ten year old twin of the older woman she had just met.

"This is our daughter Delilah," Bernard explained.

"Nice to meet you," Claire and Rene repeated.

While they were distracted by the younger daughter, they did not notice a lengthy teenage girl dressed completely in black coming to sit by the fireplace with a book. Bernard noticed though and drew their attention to the girl who had a curtain of brunette hair obscuring her features.

"And this is our eldest daughter," Bernard said.

Sensing she was being mentioned the girl drew her head up, lightly shaking her hair out of the way as Claire's breath hitched in her throat. With the quietest whisper she ever managed the girl's name tumbled out of Claire's lips in shock. "Gretchen?"


	2. Chapter 2

Title: "The Road Not Taken"

Rating: PG-13 probably.

Pairings: Claire/Elle, Claire/Gretchen

Summary: When Claire goes back in time to save Elle, her relationship with Gretchen is threatened.

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show "Heroes."

Note: Takes place after "Brave New World." The past takes place after "The Butterfly Effect."

Chapter 2

_Claire looked at her with disappointed eyes, ready to tell her they were not safe when the unthinkable happened. They were indeed not safe._

_Claire did not even hear the bullet. She wondered if that was a side effect of not being able to get hurt or killed. She just stopped hearing all the threats coming._

_Maybe that was not it. Maybe the fact that she could not absorb everything that was going on made her more human. She was certainly feeling pain now as she watched the bullet rip through Gretchen's throat. An unimaginable amount of blood poured out of the wound. Claire had never punctured her own throat that exact way but she did not think there would be that much blood. Somehow she thought that._

_Gretchen started to reach up to stop the bleeding but collapsed instead as the life flowed out of her like paper being eaten away by a flame. Claire wanted to reach out to her, give her healing blood, take her pain away, fight her battles for her. More than anything she just wanted to hold her. But she was being held back no matter how much she tried to fight._

_Blood dripped out of Gretchen's wounds. Drip. Drip. It seemed slow at first. Drip. Drip. But as Hiro reached his hand towards her- drip- it all became faster. Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. Finally, the moment came when time and space seemed to rip around her but somewhere inside she could feel as much as hear the continual drip. Drip. Drip._

Claire's eyes shot open and she instinctively started to sit up. Drip. Drip. She glanced around and found herself clutching white sheets. She was on a bed. Small but comfortable with brown wool blankets and of course the pure white sheets.

To her left was one of the glass walls of the house and through it she could see rain pounding furiously against the window mere inches from her face. The noise it created was the drip of her nightmares.

She looked to her right and found Rene staring at her from a wicker chair in a corner of the small room. She took some steadying deep breaths before he finally got up and walked towards her. He took a seat on the corner of her bed.

"How are you feeling?" Rene asked.

"I feel... What happened?" Claire asked, still unsure of her surroundings.

"You fainted," Rene replied.

This puzzled Claire even more. "How?"

"You fainted as Bernard Berg was introducing Gretchen. He asks that we call him Bernie. He thinks he is so rich people are afraid to call him Bernie. He does not want his new stepdaughter to find him intimidating. This is your new room by the way." Rene reached over to the night stand and poured a glass of water from a pitcher and handed it to Claire. Claire accepted the glass with shaking hands but did not drink.

"How is this possible? Did you know about this?" Claire asked.

Rene remained as calm as ever. "If I did know I would not have told you but I did not know. That is the truth."

"Someone had to know," Claire gritted through her teeth.

Rene nodded. "That is true. Many people probably knew. Perhaps even the Gretchen from our timeline."

Claire shook her head as if she was trying to shake away all the possibilities and images like an Etch A Sketch. "Gretchen is here? And Elle is going to be here? Did Gretchen know Elle? Were they...? Oh God, I think I'm gonna be sick."

"Everything okay?" Gretchen asked as her head peeked into the doorway of the small room. Claire jumped back on the bed instinctively causing Gretchen to jerk away as well.

Rene put a hand on top of Claire's. "My niece is not feeling very well. Her stomach is unsettled and- jumpy."

Claire nodded confirmation as Gretchen seemed to relax a bit.

"We have some Ginger Ale in the kitchen if that'll help. I can go get some," Gretchen offered, pointing towards somewhere outside of Claire's vision.

Rene shook his head and stood up. "No, that is not necessary. We are the staff. I will get it."

Rene left the room and Claire missed him as a buffer. Gretchen offered him an amused smile as he walked away before turning her attention back to Claire. She leaned against the doorframe with a cautious look. "You sure you're okay? I mean, you're uncle seems nice and everything but if everything isn't okay..."

Claire shook her head. "No, my uncle is a very nice man. We just had a rough trip."

Claire watched carefully as Gretchen seemed to digest this information. Claire began trying (quite late in the game) to be incognito and assume her role as nameless maid who had never seen or heard of Gretchen before.

Claire looked towards the storm raging outside the window. "I mean I came all this way. I thought I'd at least be able to see the stars. Just my luck it's raining. Nothing but black clouds on the horizon."

"I could give you stars," Gretchen said. This caused Claire to flashback to her last conversation with Gretchen.

"_I could give you stars," Gretchen insisted with her best smile._

At the time Claire thought Gretchen was referring to an ability. "What does that mean?"

Gretchen glanced outside the doorway impishly before motioning with her hand for Claire to follow her. Gretchen had already left the room before Claire decided to follow. Some part of her wanted to know.

Claire walked through the house that almost seemed haunted in some way. The entire house was silent except for the storm that raged against every side, the drops of water that coated every wall and seemed to coat the home with darkness and shadows.

Claire finally found Gretchen in a room that looked about five times as big as the one she woke up in. It seemed to be an office complete with the standard desk, books and computer as well as the projector Gretchen was fiddling with. It looked like something from a classroom in high school.

"Almost ready," Gretchen said before snapping her fingers together as an idea formed in her head. "No, wait."

Gretchen pushed past Claire out of the room and Claire remained perfectly still as she waited, too exhausted to do anything else despite all the rest she just had given that the clock now read it was eight in the evening and it was daylight when she arrived. A moment later, Gretchen returned carrying a big yellow blanket. She opened it up and spread it across the floor.

"Go ahead. Lie down," Gretchen instructed as she went back to the projector.

Claire skeptically did as she was told. She did know Gretchen after all. Even if it was not the Gretchen she was currently spending time with. Claire stared upward when suddenly a projection of real stars appeared across the ceiling. Gretchen turned off the lights and laid beside Claire, enjoying the view herself.

"You like?" Gretchen asked.

"Yeah," Claire smiled lightly. "How'd you learn to do this?"

"Long story," Gretchen said evasively. Claire did not push the matter.

"Why'd you do this for me?" Claire asked.

Gretchen shrugged. "You just seemed to be having an even worse day than I was. I'd hope someone would do something like this for me if I was sad."

Claire was touched and had to resist the urge to move closer to her as Gretchen reached an index finger up to point out star systems. "That's the milky way. That's the big dipper. Orion's belt."

Claire remained entranced with Gretchen's identification of all the little points of light for a few minutes until Rene appeared in the doorway with a glass of ginger ale and reality seeped back in. This was not her girlfriend. Her Gretchen was gone. At least for now she was.

"The friend we were supposed to meet has come into town," Rene said calmly.

"Friend?" Gretchen asked.

Claire sighed deeply before reluctantly getting to her feet. Ignoring Gretchen's question, she asked one of her own. "Where is the rest of your family now?"

Gretchen sensed a change of mood and got into a sitting position as well. "They're meditating about some deep questions like what your foot odor says about your sexual prowess or some fucked up stuff like that."

Claire raised an eyebrow. "So, is there any way my friend and I could sneak out of here?"

Gretchen chuckled. "Trying to escape already. Pretty smart. Yeah, go out the back door. Type in the code, it's 8675309 and yes it's ridiculous. My stepmother picked it out. I think that song was written the year she was born."

Rene was immediately headed towards the back door. Claire grinned awkwardly, rolled on the balls of her feet and headed silently out the door. She stopped in the doorway, a question burning in her mind. She turned back to see Gretchen turning the projector off and could not help but ask, "why did you just help us?"

Gretchen shrugged as she put things away. A moment later she looked up with a winning quirky grin. "Maybe I just like doing nice things for beautiful girls. Maybe there's just something I like about you. I can't explain it."

"It's okay. Thank you," Claire said, backing out of the room.

"Hey, wait," Gretchen called out.

Claire immediately rushed back into the room, wildly looking around for intruders. "What?"

"You kinda passed out before we were properly introduced. I'm Gretchen. Gretchen Berg." Gretchen extended a hand and moved forward.

Claire moved forward and shook her hand and kept Gretchen's warm hand in hers for a moment as she relived history. "Claire Bennet."

"Well, hi Claire Bennet."

"Claire," Rene said, reentering the room. "It's time to go meet our friend."

"Right," Claire pulled her hand away from Gretchen and with one last look went in pursuit of Elle.

"Good luck with your friend," Gretchen's words echoed after her as Claire left the house.

Rene and Claire walked in silence for some time until they finally approached the bar known as the Golden Shovel.

"It is unwise to set more events in motion than we were meant to," Rene said as the glow of the green neon sign on the front of the bar reflected on his face.

Claire barely spared him a glare. "Don't start with me. I'm just being human. My girlfriend got shot today and who knows what else we've screwed up since then. Maybe Gretchen was so accepting of my ability because she's seen people with abilities before. People like Elle. Maybe they had a whole relationship I don't know about that I screwed up now. Do I keep them apart so they never meet? Or push them together so they do?"

"We don't know that they ever met," Rene said with a shrug.

"This bar is the closest bit of civilization to their beach house," Claire observed.

"I did not think Gretchen was much for interacting with all kinds of people until your jump from the ferris wheel. Besides wouldn't she have mentioned it?" Rene asked as he grabbed the wooden doorhandle to the bar and pulled it open, motioning for Claire to go first.

"We've been together for months and she never told me her family was made up of billionaires," Claire said sadly as she walked past Rene into the bar.

They did not have to wait very long to find Elle who was animatedly arguing with the bartender.

"Sorry girl," The burly man in the muscle shirt said as he pushed her ID back to her across the bar. "No ID, no drink and your ID is unacceptable."

"Hey buddyཀ I'm 24," Elle said as she attempted to flatten her ID out against the bar, "you can still kinda see it. It's just a little melted that's all. Hasn't your wallet ever caught on fire before?"

"Sorry," The bartender repeated (seeming none too sorry at all) and headed to another part of the bar in search of paying customers.

Elle cried out in frustration and slammed her hands against the bar. Sparks flew from her palms and ignited the bar in the space she was occupying. Elle glanced at her hands in panic and stumbled towards a table in the corner that was hidden from the bartender's gaze.

The bartender turned around and noticed the fire and quickly squirted it down with a water pump from behind the bar. His eyes searched the room for Elle causing Rene to go forward intent on working the magic that made him the Haitian as he motioned for Claire to follow Elle. Claire did as she was instructed after bracing herself for a moment in preparation of seeing another girl she never thought she would see again.

"Elle?" Claire asked as she rounded the corner to face the older girl.

Elle instinctively lifted her hand in the air, electricity crackling in her palm with stray shocks across her arm and face. Elle winced as if the stray electricity was hurting her before her eyes softened in confused recognition. "Pompom?"

Elegant fingers closed in a fist, smothering the electrical ball of energy within it. Elle narrowed her eyes at Claire as if she was a mirage and began to glance tentatively around the bar. "What are you doing here? Is that the Haitian?"

Claire followed Elle's eyes to where Rene had just wiped the bartender's memory and was leading him back behind the bar. Claire let out the sad sigh she always had when she watched him do that before turning her attention back to Elle who now wore a surprisingly gleeful expression on her face.

"Angela sent you guys didn't she? She wants me back. It's only been a few hours and she regrets firing me already," Elle clapped her hands together giddily. "I knew I was good at my job. I knew it."

Claire sucked in a breath and took a seat across from Elle as she prepared to deliver the hard message. "My grandmother didn't send us."

Elle froze as the smile slid slowly off her face. She shook her head as if to hear Claire better. "What?"

"Angela didn't send us. You're still fired," Claire said as gently as possible though she was having trouble as the last time she saw Elle, Elle had shot her and tried to kidnap her but for Elle that had not happened yet.

"Ah, I see," Elle stated calmly as electricity crackled sporadically across her face. Her eyes darted, seemingly unable to make eye contact with Claire as pink tinted her cheeks. "Awkward. It's okay. It's fine."

They sat in a tense silence for a few seconds before Claire offered, "You don't need me to hold your hand or something, do you?"

Elle rolled her eyes and crossed her arms under her breasts. Claire had to work to keep her gaze from lingering too long in that direction.

"Shut up," Elle grumbled. "So, what are you doing here anyway? Did daddy and his Claire bear have a fallout that caused her to run away from home?"

Elle dramatized the last part of her sentence with a fake pout that caused Claire to glare.

"Rene and I are from the future. We time traveled because we're here to protect you," Claire finally gritted.

Elle sat upright in her chair. "Protect me? From who? What? Why? Is it you? Do you attack me?"

Claire took a moment to answer. They had to keep Elle on her current path. Telling her about her murder might hinder that significantly. The question now was how to tell Elle the truth without tell her the whole truth.

"There's a group in the future called the Lazarus group out to destroy the world. Part of their way of doing this is by messing up timelines. You're very important to both us and them so I have been sent here to make sure you stay on the right path," Claire said, immediately proud of how well she edited herself on the spot. Another part of her was sad at how easy it was for her to avoid the truth now. Not much of a brave new world after all.

Elle smiled hesitantly, cautiously happy and not wanting to embarrass herself in front of Claire again by being mistakenly overeager. "I'm important?"

It was Claire's turn to roll her eyes pointedly before admitting to Elle, "yeah, you're pretty important. To me. To everyone."

"Really?" Elle asked as the smile on her face got even wider.

"Really," Claire repeated somewhat sheepishly.

"Well, this calls for a drink," Elle said excitedly but for Claire the excitement was anything but infectious.

At that moment Rene approached and put three drinks on the table as he took a seat. A beer was placed in front of Elle, with a water for him and a soda for Claire. It figured the one person Claire could get drunk with was not going to let her get drunk at all.

"A toast," Elle raised her glass in the air, "and for the first time in history, it's to me."

"In the Navy a person who toasts with water is said to doom the person being toasted to a watery grave. I will refrain," Rene said passively.

Elle nodded, her glass still high in the air. "I could do without a watery grave. Me and water do not go together. Besides no grave for me. I'm important and special, right cheerleader?"

Claire bit the inside of the cheek to keep her from rebelling against the smug tone in Elle's voice. The fact that they were still leading Elle to the grave she was doomed for was enough to keep the normally biting girl quiet.

Elle worked to keep a plastic grin across her face. "Claire, Haitian can't toast because of a watery grave, why can't you toast me?"

"I'm not in the mood," Claire glared.

"Well, get in the mood. I can't help the fact that you're jealous-" Elle said before getting cut off by a bitter laugh from Claire.

"Jealous? Of you?" Claire asked in between bouts of laughter. Rene just watched the girls argue blankly.

"Yes, of me. You had to come all through time just to protect me because I'm important. Or maybe you wanted to. Tell me, am I your hero, Claire? Do you want to grow up to be just like me?" Elle said as she lowered her glass. She steepled her fingers underneath her chin as if she was extremely interested in the answer and held a mischievous glint in her eyes. Claire knew Elle was loving pushing her buttons.

"No thanks. I could be like you but I actually value my sanity," Claire smirked.

"Bitch," Elle spat as she began to light her hands with electricity. However, the electricity in her hands was almost immediately smothered. Elle turned a desperate and frustrated look at the Haitian who made no apologies for dampening her powers.

Claire was tempted to chuckle at Elle's expense but if it were not for Rene's intervening Claire would be more at Elle's mercy than she already was. She was doing well already; she may as well hold it together as best she could.

"I'm sorry I'm not in a celebrating mood but I just lost someone I was in love with so forgive me for not wanting to throw a big party," Claire said sadly. She may want to kill Elle herself but she was not overwhelmed with a need to lie to her.

"You broke up with that flying kid? Pfft. Come on, you were not in love with him," Elle declared with a wave of her hand before a flash of vulnerability danced across her eyes. "Were you?"

Claire shook her head. "No, maybe not."

"See, no problem. This place has jazz on the jukebox and a pool table. I've never played pool. I can do whatever I want now. Take whatever I want," Elle said, glancing around the room as if it was no longer filled with people and instead filled with toys. Claire considered that maybe to Elle it was the same thing. Peter hinted as much.

"Oh hell no," Claire snapped. "There are going to be some ground rules."

Elle threw herself back in the chair and flopped like a rag doll. "You are such a buzzkill."

Claire began to count off rules on her fingers, "One, you avoid killing people while you are on this beach. Two, don't flash your powers around or the Haitian will shut you down. Three, you don't tell a damn living soul we are back here and that you have seen us. Even people you think are no threat to you could be if they know we're protecting you, got it?"

"Peachy, pompom. You're a real company girl in training, but I have some counter rules," Elle smiled. Claire raised an eyebrow at the gall of Elle to be making requests.

"I'm important. So important you had to travel through time to take care of me, so I'm thinking we're going to do what I want. I've always wanted to go swimming or go on an amusement park ride or go on a date and you're gonna help me with all that because if you don't I'll go out on my own. Then I could get kidnaped by some villains and we wouldn't want that, would we?" Elle asked brightly.

Claire was left wondering who the real villains were since Elle was certainly proving herself in that department. "You want to date me, really? Why Elle, I didn't know you cared."

Elle snorted in response. "I said I wanted your help getting a date since you're all cheerleader superstar and people are into that. I didn't say I wanted to date you. How'd your mind get there?"

Claire blushed in embarrassment and mentally berated Rene for not stepping in and getting rid of the tension that seemed to permeate the conversation.

Elle just laughed. "Oh Claire-bear."

"Don't call me that," Claire snapped.

"Oh Claire-bear," Elle repeated, drawing out each syllable. "You treasure of the Bennet home. And the fact that you are a special treasure child can't have anything to do with your winning personality since it doesn't exist."

Claire squirmed in her chair as she resisted the urge to slap Elle across the face... or bite her lip. Claire nearly jumped at having thought that. 'Where is my head going?'

Elle just smiled a sprawling Cheshire cat grin in amusement at Claire's discomfort before saying, "You and me, cheerleader. We're gonna have a lot of fun together."


	3. Chapter 3

Title: "The Road Not Taken"

Rating: PG-13 probably.

Pairings: Claire/Elle, Claire/Gretchen

Summary: When Claire goes back in time to save Elle, her relationship with Gretchen is threatened.

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show "Heroes."

Note: Takes place after "Brave New World." The past takes place after "The Butterfly Effect."

Chapter 3

"Six ball, corner pocket," Claire said as she moved the cue stick through her fingers. The stick hit its target, sending the white ball spinning in the direction of the six ball. Just as they were about to make contact the six ball exploded into a pile of dust.

Claire's jaw dropped as Elle walked around the table and yanked the cue stick from Claire's fingers.

"You missed. My turn," Elle said, immediately lining up her shot.

Claire glared at Elle for a moment in a mixture of shock and annoyance while Elle lined up her shot. Claire glanced around the bar to see if anyone noticed the small explosion that just happened on the pool table before taking the opportunity to knock the pool stick out of Elle's hands causing her to scratch.

Elle stood up rigidly, mouth agape before turning to Claire. "I cannot believe you did that."

"You blew up a ball on the freaking table in a crowded barཀ" Claire tried to whisper but lost control of the volume of her voice as she got angrier. Elle clasped a hand over Claire's mouth but removed it at the challenging glint in Claire's green eyes.

"Before you get mad-" Elle started before getting immediately cut off by Claire.

"Too late for that," Claire actually managed to whisper this time but Elle was still tempted to shove a sock in her mouth. That actually sounded kinda fun to Elle. She would consider it later.

"Before you get mad," Elle repeated, "whose fault was that really?"

"It's your fault," Claire shot back easily.

"What?" Elle asked though Claire had a hard time figuring out if Elle actually believed her argument of if she was just arguing to make Claire crazy for her own amusement.

"I was playing by the rules and you decided to cheat by blowing up a ball on the table in front of everyone. The bartender knows we're over here. I bet we'll have to replace that ball. I wonder if you can replace just one." Claire looked with concern at the table.

"It's your fault because you had an advantage. You played pool before. I have no idea how to play. It's also your fault the Haitian isn't here to stop me," Elle insisted with a shrug.

Claire rubbed her eyes. Arguing with Elle made her exhausted. "He deserved a night off and I mistakenly thought _I_ could keep you in line. I don't know what I was thinking. Besides I've barely ever played pool before and this was your stupid idea anyway."

Elle playfully bumped Claire's shoulder with what almost seemed like a flirtatious smile. "Don't worry. We'll just tell the bartender the ball rolled off the table and got lost. It's not like he'll believe I blew it up anyway."

Claire leaned in and whispered in Elle's ear, trying not to notice how Elle shivered slightly at the sensation. "That's not the point, Elle. You are wrong about thinking you can just do whatever you want because of your ability. It's not fair."

"Wrong. Being saddled with abilities we never asked for was not fair. The fact that we're evolved beings. Hell yeah. That's fair. Survival of the fittest. We have these abilities so we can survive. If you didn't have your abilities you might have died as a baby in an apartment fire by flames or smoke inhalation, but you didn't. Daddy dearest pulled you on out because you were meant to survive. Predisposed to. You know what's not fair? Not using every ability you have. You used your vision and strength to line up your shot and hit your ball because that's what you got at your disposal. I got electricity. I used it. Nothing wrong with that," Elle babbled in a childish and slightly psychotic tone. However, Claire had to admit her reasoning was not completely out there. What was even more startling was the fact that Elle knew and remembered specific aspects of Claire's life. Claire did not know why Elle would care about her.

"I just don't know why you're acting like this now," Claire said, languidly playing with the seven ball and eventually rolling it into the corner pocket.

Elle shook her head. "A lot of my life I can't remember and the parts I do weren't that special either. I do remember two things though. How to follow rules and how to make my own. My daddy's dead thanks to that evil Sylar. And Elvira queen of the Petrelli clan fired me from the only job I was trained for in my whole life. That leaves me one option; spend my severance making my own rules and having my own fun."

As Elle finished speaking, a spark from her hand spontaneously flew out and zapped a piece of metal on the pool table. "Ow," Elle said, sucking her fingertip in her mouth.

Claire turned away from the annoyingly provocative gesture as memories flooded her of Elle coming to her home because her powers were not working anymore. Claire deduced this was the beginning of it. Soon Elle was going to hurt.

When Elle looked at her misfiring finger again, Claire's fingers gently encircled Elle's wrist causing Elle to take a nervous sharp intake of breath, curious of what Claire was going to do next.

Claire examined the digit for a long moment and seeing no obvious signs of injury (she did not remember as much anyway), she released Elle's hand back to her with a compassionate look on her face. "Just be careful, Elle. You never know when your powers are going to turn on you."

Elle pulled away awkwardly, not having much experience with people caring about her wounds other than her daddy. Most people tried to hurt her just because she threatened to kill them or made a couple of attempts to do so. The fact that Claire was being so caring with her despite the cheerbitch persona she exuded so well was enough to knock Elle more than a little off balance.

Elle had lost a lot in the last few days. She lost her job, her father and her safety as Sylar attacked her, something he was not even willing to do back when she was originally fake dating him. The idea of trusting Claire scared her a bit. Despite trying to be strong and in control, she did not know how much more she could take. The fact that her powers had indeed been misfiring since she got here was more than she could handle already.

"So, where are you and the Haitian staying?" Elle asked in an attempt to change the subject. She would not let Claire Bennet shake her (though it was an interesting visual).

"We're working as servants at this mansion," Claire said nonchalantly.

Elle doubled over with laughter against the pool table. She was laughing so hysterically she was beginning to have trouble breathing which Claire thought served her right as what she said did not seem funny at all to her.

"No, seriously. What's up?" Elle asked, standing upright again with a few stray chuckles escaping.

"We're working as servants in a mansion," Claire repeated.

Elle placed her hands on her hips with some recognizable attitude. "You as a servant. Really princess? Like you're capable of slumming it."

"I'll have you know I'm totally awesome at it," Claire insisted.

Elle leaned against the pool table as if she was planning on being there for a long interrogation. "So, what do you do in your 'awesome' position as maid in a mansion? Put pillow mints on the pillows?"

Claire smirked. "They only do that in hotels."

"Pfft," Elle said, adopting a childish mocking tone, "whatever, so what are you doing then?"

Claire shifted around awkwardly, before tucking a long blonde strand of hair behind her ear. Elle tilted her head as if enjoying the show that was Claire's embarrassment. Her lips ticked up in an ever rising smile before Claire finally blurted out, "Well, I haven't actually done anything yet besides kinda pass out."

Elle erupted in a fit of laughter that was almost musical on Claire's ears. If only it was not at her expense.

"I knew it," Elle exclaimed as she poked a finger at Claire's chest. "I knew it."

The second time Elle poked at Claire's chest a little bolt of electricity again flew out of Elle's finger and was quickly absorbed into Claire's skin. Claire instinctively closed her eyes as she could feel the electricity spiraling into oblivion inside of her. A little tingle that traveled downward...

Claire snapped out of her reverie when she heard Elle yelp, "owཀ" Claire's eyes snapped open and Elle was pulling her finger away from Claire and staring at it in confusion as she wondered why her power suddenly hurt her. Claire realized only a moment had past since she had closed her eyes and took a deep breath to steady herself and hoped Elle would not notice how much she affected her.

Of course Elle did not notice, so focused on her hands. She held them out in front of her and looked at both of them carefully as if they were about to erupt at any second. Claire looked at her with increasingly gentle eyes and covered Elle's hands with her own before interlocking their fingers as a sign of support.

Elle looked more confused than ever at this recent turn of events but Claire just smiled comfortingly as she saw the gears turning in Elle's head. Elle did not understand what was going on and deep down she was still just a scared little girl who wanted to run at the first sign of trouble because there was no one she could trust. No one to treat her right. Claire was determined to keep Elle from running away. Claire could be the one she needed. She would do anything to save Elle's life this time around.

Claire remembered feeling her own heartbreak a little when Sylar first told her he killed Elle. There was the unexplainable sense of loss which Claire reasoned was because there was no else exactly like Elle out there, but she had to admit privately to herself later on she was hurt because she actually did care about Elle despite everything. She could not help it. She even later admitted to herself that she probably cared about Elle in a different way than she should have. There was just something there. The sparks. The electricity. Everything wrapped up in Elle.

But she started to deal with it. Even talked about Elle with Gretchen who would always just be very- almost uncharacteristically silent while Claire talked about Elle. Claire felt Gretchen could tell what Elle meant to her. Gretchen was not only Claire's girlfriend but also best friend after all. But perhaps Gretchen's quiet had been because Gretchen had her own secrets to hide. Her own history with Elle. What were the odds they were on the same beach?

Still, Claire had thought she had moved on. Peter told her things Sylar had told him during their years in Matt's magic wall world. Sylar burned Elle up with her own power until she was nothing but ashes. That was something no healer and no healing blood could put back together. In his mind, Sylar felt like he was doing her a favor by burning her up after he killed her. Not alive meant no more pain. And if that meant Claire's ability brought him any pain at all, she was happy for it. But Claire was not going to let it get to that point. If she could not save Gretchen, she could certainly save Elle this time around.

"Would you mind?" Elle asked anxiously.

"Mind what?" Claire asked in an exasperated tone.

"Giving me my hands back," Elle said, looking intently at their still clasped hands.

Claire reluctantly disentangled their fingers, not hiding how much Elle's rudeness was bothering her but probably for different reasons than Elle would expect. "I guess we'll call it a night."

Claire turned and began to walk away and Elle followed her, almost skipping next to her. "And we're going to the carnival tomorrow, right? I want to ride a roller coaster."

Claire nodded slowly. "After I get off work."

Elle shoved her hands in her back pockets, restless with an uncontainable energy. "So, how far do we have to walk to get to the mansion?"

Claire stopped dead in her tracks and turned to face Elle completely. "What are you talking about? Don't you have a hotel room? One with pillow mints?"

"Well yeah, but you and the Haitian are like my secret service detail. Aren't I supposed to be with you guys?" Elle asked.

"You're the one bragging about your badass powers that make you better than everyone. You'll be fine," Claire clapped a hand on Elle's shoulder and headed to the bar exit. Elle once again followed after her.

"Is this because I electrocuted your boyfriend? Or stalked you when you spread your good old Daddy Glasses ashes even though I secretly knew he was alive? Or because I tried to kill that little rat you call a dog?" Elle said and nearly fell over when Claire suddenly turned in her steps and stomped back, only stoping when she was inches from Elle's face. This was a memory Elle and Claire were actually both familiar with as Claire was back in Elle's face with almost the same intensity and proximity as when Claire caught Elle spying on her at her father's funeral.

"You tried to kill Mr. Muggles?" Claire demanded.

Elle sighed at the name. "You people call him Mr. Muggles? What is wrong with you?"

Claire continued to step forward until Elle was backed against the bar, fumbling with barstools to stay upright. "Did you try to kill my dog?"

"Yeah, until your stupid daddy and his elfin friend came outside and got rid of me," Elle said, genuinely a little scared of Claire.

Claire immediately turned and left the bar. Elle followed her from about twenty feet away this time. She was not sure she wanted to follow her anymore.

"So, pick me up at eight, then?" Elle asked.

Claire spun around but continued walking backward, putting more space in between them. "I just don't get you. I'm surrounded by killers. Surrounded. You are funny and strong and beautiful. And I know I could have ended up like you if things were different but dammit, Elle. You cannot just kill innocent people whenever or you're not worth saving."

"It was just a dog," Elle whined.

Claire shook her head. "It's not just a dog. It's not just a dog. You killed some people in Europe, electrocuted Peter on a daily basis, I've heard stories of you killing other people. Random people. Strangers you met on the street and you think it's fine. Like they had it coming if they don't have a power. You know I actually care about you, Elle. It may not makes sense right now but I do. It's just that part of me hates you."

"Fine," Elle declared as she walked away huffily. "I was planning on going to London anyway to find Claude and his friends so they could help me since you and your dad are such meanies. I'll do it now."

"Elle, don't go," Claire whispered as she watched Elle getting smaller and smaller in her line of vision. Gathering her inner strength she yelled, "Elle, don't go!"

"Why not?" Elle asked without slowing down.

"Because tomorrow I will take you on a roller coaster, buy you cotton candy and win you a damn bear all right?" Claire asked.

Elle paused in her steps. After a long moment she yelled, "fineཀ" Claire knew Elle had decided to stay for whatever reason. She could sense it. It was just a feeling in the pit of her gut. Elle immediately began stomping her way back to her hotel and Claire hoped Elle would not electrocute anyone or herself on the way.

"Stay away from the mansion!" Claire yelled after her before turning and making the long walk across the beach to the mansion.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: "The Road Not Taken"

Rating: PG-13 probably.

Pairings: Claire/Elle, Claire/Gretchen

Summary: When Claire goes back in time to save Elle, her relationship with Gretchen is threatened.

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show "Heroes."

Note: Takes place after "Brave New World." The past takes place after "The Butterfly Effect."

Claire looked at herself in the bathroom mirror one last time before leaving to start her day. She and the original maid were not exactly the same size. The uniform just hung on her. There was nothing she could do about it but she could not care very much anyway. Nothing felt comfortable since she got here, why should her uniform be any different.

A succinct two knocks on the door and Claire headed towards the sound. She knew, just knew Rene would be on the other side before she even touched the doorknob.

"Good morning," Rene greeted with a slight bow of respect. "I have already made the coffee and it is simmering as we speak. I told the Bergs this morning we would prepare bacon, pancakes, hashbrowns and an omelet bar before they woke up."

Claire played nervously with her hands. She had helped her mother cook before but... "Do you know to make any of that stuff? Because I don't know how to make any of that stuff."

Rene smiled softly. "Yes, I know how to make that stuff. Come with me."

Claire smiled her first relaxed smile in awhile and followed him to the kitchen. It was bright in the house. Light streaming in from all sides through the glass walls. Rene turned on the stove. A soft crackling of flame filled the room with sound and soothed Claire's nerves. She was always drawn to fire. Maybe it had something to do with her biological mother.

Rene lifted a cardboard crate of oranges onto the counter and pointed to a juicer next to it. "Place the oranges in the juicer for fresh orange juice. It's always good to have a healthy alternative to the menu."

"What are you gonna do?" Claire asked as she took an orange out of the crate.

"Everything else," Rene said lightly. Claire laughed softly but did as she was told for a few minutes. Enjoying the silence as they went about their tasks.

"Rene," Claire said suddenly, "why does everyone but a few of us call you the Haitian?"

"People I consider friends and loved ones call me by my name. It is why I let you call me by my name. People like Elle do not know my name," Rene said flipping eight eerily perfect pancakes on a skillet.

"Why not?" Claire asked, hoping her curiosity about Elle specifically was not too obvious or suspicious though Rene would never say anything if it was.

"I knew Elle for many years. I knew her for longer than I have known most people. In all that time she never cared to know or remember my name." Rene said.

Claire froze for a moment as she processed the new information. Before she had a chance to think much of anything Rene continued. "I do not blame her. Elle had a very tortured past as you may know. A lot of pain and memories blotted out. Her past was not only awful, it was tragic. A past like that does not make her able to care for many things. When she does..."

Claire dropped an orange skin into the garbage before abruptly asking, "When she does what?"

Any subtlety Claire tried to keep was immediately gone at that moment. She just had to know what the end of that statement was because she believed Elle did indeed care about her for some reason. Claire was unsure if Rene was testing her or was surprised by her outburst but he did not show it.

"When she does care it is significant," Rene said simply.

'Well, that didn't help at all,' Claire thought. She knew Rene would never question her or make her feel uncomfortable but she did feel uncomfortable. She needed to escape.

"I'm going to set the table," Claire said as she opened and shut a few drawers before finally finding the one she was looking for. She grabbed a bunch of silverware and some cloth napkins and headed into the livingroom, stopping as she saw Gretchen once again perched next to the fireplace, this time reading the paper.

"Morning," Claire uttered though her voice cracked in the middle of the word. She breathed in and tried again. "Didn't sleep much? And before you say anything do not respond with 'what is much?'"

Gretchen smiled at the joking warning but did not look up from her paper. "How much is much?"

"Fine, if you're going to be difficult," Claire said, continuing her walk to the diningroom.

"I dig the two way fireplace. It's the best thing about this place if you haven't noticed." Gretchen finally looked up from her paper and set it aside. Claire took the unspoken invitation to stay and talk some more despite the inherent awkwardness she felt at her predicament.

"I noticed," Claire smiled. "But you don't like the beach or the sun or the awful color palette that devoured this entire house?"

"Well, who doesn't love that?" Gretchen chuckled. "It's just not really my scene."

"Mine either," Claire admitted before catching herself. "But maids can't be choosers."

"This place has some advantages. I mean we have the ocean and a soundproof room for when my new little sis and I want to play the guitar," Gretchen said.

The corners of Claire's mouth ticked up as she took a seat close to Gretchen, wrapped up in the new details that were emerging from the conversation. "You can play the guitar? Like well?"

"Really well," Gretchen blustered.

"Really?" Claire giggled.

Gretchen shook her head as she instantly admitted, "no."

The girls laughed easily as Claire put her hand instinctively on Gretchen's thigh and caressed it through her jeans. She focused on the warmth that existed there. How familiar and wonderful it was.

Gretchen coughed through her suddenly dry throat but tried to exude whatever cool exterior she felt was attracting Claire. "There's also a theater in the basement. I was thinking of watching 'The Graduate' in there tonight. It's famous cinematically and won an Oscar. You can join me if you want. I won't tattle on you."

Claire blushed at the flirtatious tone before she got a gnawing feeling in the bottom of her gut. "I actually have plans tonight with someone."

"A date? After only one night here?" Gretchen asked tentatively.

"No, not a date," Claire explained quickly as if she had been caught doing something when she knew she had not. Some small twisted part of her wanted Gretchen to think she was available. She felt sick.

"So, what's a non-date with Claire Petrelli?" Gretchen asked.

Claire shrugged as she began folding the cloth napkins in her lap in the shape of swans. Gretchen took one of the napkins from Claire's lap- with side eyed approval from Claire- and began to help her fold. A surreal experience for Claire as Gretchen was the one who taught her the art in the first place. Now Claire knew where she picked it up.

Finally Claire answered the hanging question that she knew Gretchen was dying to learn about. "Carnival. Rides, cotton candy, someone winning someone a bear. Hey, do some carnivals have roller coasters? Because if not I'm kinda stuck."

Gretchen flipped through the paper, nonchalantly adding, "You're non-date does sound a lot like a date but it's no big. Regardless, whoever it is, he's a lucky guy."

"It's not a guy," Claire made a point of mentioning. Gretchen gave up acting nonchalant as her eyes whipped over to Claire and her face contorted into a hilarious look of surprise that she was completely unable to hide. Claire smiled fondly and wanted to kiss her when she looked like that. She resisted, opting to clear her throat and sort silverware.

Gretchen flipped through the paper a little more excitedly before finding what she was looking for. "We usually don't get carnivals here, but there's one called the Sullivan Brothers carnival in town right now."

The Sullivan Brothers carnival. The one that was led by Samuel and his brother Joseph before him. The one Claire went to with Gretchen. The one that almost killed thousands of people. "Shit."

"What?" Gretchen asked.

"I can't go to that carnival and I promised I would and if I don't things are going to suck. I guess I have to go," Claire sighed.

Claire turned to find Gretchen's eyes focused on her in amusement. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just we've had maybe two conversations and you're already the most interesting person I ever met," Gretchen smiled.

Claire tilted her head. "Do you have a popcorn machine?"

Gretchen bubbled with laughter and rubbed her eyes in disbelief at Claire's non sequiturs. Claire pulled Gretchen's hands away from her face and clasped them securely in hers in an attempt to get Gretchen to focus on her.

"Do you have a popcorn machine in your little basement theater?" Claire asked with a tease as she began to laugh as well. It just felt so right to be with Gretchen like this again without feeling like she was disappointing her or everyone else. She could just talk nonsense with her favorite person once again.

"Um, yeah I have one of those little ones that's like- Mmmf." Gretchen was silenced by Claire's lips against hers. They moved soft and slow against each other and Claire treasured it. It was a kiss she felt all over. And unlike the tingles Elle made her feel with her electricity that were violent and uncontrollable- much like Elle herself- the tingles she felt with Gretchen were in all the right places. More right than she could talk about in mixed company but unlike the kisses she shared with her Gretchen, these were not meaningful through their relationship. This version of Gretchen did not know her at all so why did Claire feel that she did? Should she feel that she did?

Claire pulled away and saw Gretchen's eyes still closed with bliss. She cleared her throat and Gretchen opened her eyes with a dreamy smile on her face.

With that Claire amended her plans for that evening. "I can't make any promises but if I get back early enough I'd like to watch part of that movie with you."

Gretchen's eyes darted between Claire's eyes and lips before responding, "you know where I'll be."

Gretchen then winced a bit at how cheesy that must have sounded as Claire smiled shyly before going about her work. The rest of the day passed by quickly as Claire avoided direct contact with the family. Rene instructed her on how to do various cleaning techniques as he was ever present and supportive. Every now and again she and Gretchen would end up in the same room and Gretchen would make faces at her from over Rene's shoulder in attempt to make her laugh. A good portion of the time they worked.

When she was able to inconspicuously notice the family as a whole they seemed like perfectly pleasant strangers to each other. They treated each other with the politeness and respect that Claire expected they would treat anyone with but there was no concept of depth to their relationships. No obvious warmth or shared stories. It felt to Claire that they were fond of each other but with the exception of Joanna and her daughter, prepared to let each other go if the day ever came.

Claire knew she could not make judgements about the quality of one family's relationship based on being a fly on the wall for one day but something felt off here. It was a scary feeling that Claire was unfamiliar with. Claire had two sets of families that went above and beyond the call of duty to try to make a connection with her; to be close. She loved her family dearly and could not imagine being a part of one that was willing to let her go. Claire could never figure out how Gretchen's family was able to cut her off completely after Gretchen decided to stay with Claire after the ferris wheel incident, though Claire knew that sort of thing happened quite often. Families falling apart in crisis and fear. Claire wondered if days like this were a part of why it happened.

Claire wondered if that's what drew Elle and Gretchen to her or her to Elle and Gretchen. Both of their fathers were rich and powerful and ignorant in the treatment of their daughters. Bernie even looked a little like Bob Bishop. Claire decided she may never find the answers and in the end it did not matter. They both had her anyway.

Finally night came and Claire retreated to her room and opened her duffle bag and all the memories that came with it. She found a cute pair of dark jeans and a top that emphasized her cleavage. She had packed quickly and had been distracted by her argument with Gretchen but Claire wondered why she picked that exact ensemble knowing she was about to see Elle again. What did she want to happen? What does she want?

She fixed her hair and put on lip gloss in the mirror, perhaps longer than she should have. She fussed over her image in the mirror longer than usual. Her cleavage was really noticeable...

Rene appeared in the mirror behind her.

"Too much?" Claire asked.

"You look nice as always, Claire. It is time to leave if you are going to meet Elle on time," Rene said before disappearing again.

"Thank you, Rene," Claire whispered to herself.

Claire entered Elle's hotel and rode up the elevator in silence. She felt she had all the knowledge she needed. She had Elle's room number from the past records. She smiled at the people who entered and exited the elevator. She went over details to protect Elle and herself from setting off history and getting herself in trouble at this carnival that she was not supposed to happen upon for another year.

She had thought of everything. She was sure of it.

She knocked on Elle's door with actual confidence. However, as she pulled away from the door a paralyzing thought grabbed her. It was scared her as she thought it and it scared her that she was scared. Nothing to fear but fear itself had never been more true.

She thought, 'What if Elle didn't dress up?'

She had thought of Elle during the day. She put enormous thought into her and whether she cared about her to the point that she embarrassed herself in front of Rene. All this thought and she never thought what would happen if Elle did not care. She never thought what would happen if Elle was not dressed up and she was.

All the things that could possibly go wrong tonight and this was the thing that had gripped Claire. This was the thing that could be most important in Claire's mind. She wondered if she could zip her jacket up before Elle answered the door.

She did not have time to do that as the door swung open revealing Elle who was dressed to the nines. At least to Claire she was. She looked absolutely beautiful and it stunned her.

"Hi," Elle greeted brightly.

"Oh," Claire said as she looked her up and down.

"Oh?" Elle asked as she gripped the door tighter, prepared to close it in Claire's face- slam it preferably.

"Hi," Claire added almost as an afterthought.

Neither girl knew what to do. To storm off or proceed through the night as it was. And what kind of night was it supposed to be anyway? They stared at each other for a long moment before another thought grabbed Claire.

Almost ready to laugh at the situations she had gotten herself into today and even now Claire thought, 'tonight is going to be a long night.'


	5. Chapter 5

Title: "The Road Not Taken"

Rating: PG-13 probably.

Pairings: Claire/Elle, Claire/Gretchen

Summary: When Claire goes back in time to save Elle, her relationship with Gretchen is threatened.

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show "Heroes."

Note: Takes place after "Brave New World." The past takes place after "The Butterfly Effect." My ferris wheel might not be depicted as the one on the show. Assume they got a new ferris wheel after Claire and Elle left. Haha.

Chapter 5

Claire and Elle walked in silence for a long time. Claire thought about the many problems she faced in the short time since she had been here. As they inched closer to the supposed location of the carnival, Claire got more and more anxious. She could not stay away from the carnival without rattling the already temperamental Elle. She would just have to avoid anyone who she would go on to know later on. Unfortunately that was just about everyone given that she stayed there for a few days in college. Add that to the fact that by the time she revealed powers to everyone, there was not a person with abilities who did not know who Claire was. This felt different then her missions with dangerous strangers. She had gone back to hiding who she was again.

They finally approached the carnival bearing the Sullivan Brothers banner. Multicolored lights flashed everywhere. A feeling of dread filled Claire's stomach but when she turned her attention to Elle, Claire could not help but smile at the childlike glee Elle displayed in her entire being. The corners of Elle's mouth were turned up revealing perfect white teeth behind happy pink lips. It was a sight to behold.

A rainbow of lights alternately flashed across Elle's face as she stared in wonder at the various trailers and tents of games, food and rides. Coming to a place like this as a free person was a new opportunity for Elle, one she would probably share with father ideally but he was gone and Claire was here. Instead of the anger, fear or depression that Claire expected Elle would be feeling there was nothing but unabashed joy and wonder at the sight before her.

With a renewed feeling of well being, Claire grabbed Elle's hand and began leading her inside the carnival. Claire was sure if she could just maintain a hold on Elle they would be fine. So, of course an instant after they entered Elle zapped Claire's hand until it was on fire.

Claire was almost not aware of it at first until she felt the heat on her skin and heard the crackle of flames from her hand. Claire looked down as the flames erupted and instantly ran towards one of the games that involved tossing rings around objects floating in water. She ran and tried (failingly) to smoothly and covertly smother the flame as she did so. Finally, she dipped her hand in the water while a booth worker's back was turned.

"Hey," the man yelped as he spun around to face her. Claire knew him in the future. His name was Anthony. He could control the way water moved.

Claire quickly pulled her hand out of the water. It was thankfully already healed and flame free. She held her hand up innocently and moved her fingers around in a playful wave. "Sorry. Warm evening, right?"

His eyes narrowed at her sleeve which was now charred and full of holes, but simply said, "Yeah, I guess, but you're not supposed to stick your hand in the water. There's a huge sign saying that."

Claire ticked her eyes to the side where a sign was indeed displayed, saying 'DO NOT PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE WATER.'

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ban you from this game," Anthony said.

Claire nodded and put on a fake frown before sadly saying, "I understand. Tough but fair. I'll stay away."

Claire held her hands up in surrender and quickly ran away. Trying to make as little of an impression as possible was turning into hard work. She crouched down as she tried to speed walk through the carnival. Finally her eyes settled on Elle who was jostling a corndog, popcorn, cotton candy and a slusho in her arms.

Claire approached Elle and tried to walk as casually as possible in an attempt not to attract attention but she could not hide the annoyance that was beginning to take over her features. Stance rigid, by the time she was close to approaching Elle she was practically stomping.

"What in the hell was that?" Claire asked when she finally reached her.

"What?" Elle asked innocently as she slurped her drink. Claire was tempted to knock the drink out of her hand but resisted.

"You set my hand on fire in public," Claire whispered.

Elle nodded. "Sorry, I got excited. I haven't eaten in almost a day."

Claire's jaw dropped in confusion as she watched Elle ravenously tear into the popcorn, eating fistful after fistful. "Why haven't you eaten?"

"I tried. I couldn't keep anything down. Nervous stomach," Elle said vaguely as she took a large bite of the corn dog. Claire was a little worried about why Elle was having trouble eating. She was also worried Elle would choke on the corn dog stick at the rate she was going.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Claire asked before Elle turned her eyes to something behind by Claire.

"Oh my gosh, it's the ferris wheel. We have to ride on the ferris wheel. You promised," Elle said as she began heading in that direction.

Claire followed her, her eyes were trained on Elle so she could not slip away this time, but she kept her distance to avoid another "outburst."

"First of all, I don't know if I promised that. Second of all, are you sure you want to ride that? You just shoved your face full of food. You'll make yourself sick," Claire said, pausing in her steps as she realized she sounded just like her mother.

"Shoved my face?" Elle asked, before shoving Claire. Claire was momentarily knocked off her feet by the surprising force behind the shove and she found herself colliding with a stranger.

"Sorry, I'm sorry," Claire said, backing away from the man she was relieved to know was a stranger. She glanced around to make sure she had not garnered any other unwanted attention.

"No, it's my fault," the older man said.

Elle quirked an eyebrow as she stepped towards them, still eating. "No, it was her fault. Totally and completely her fault. She's clumsy."

Claire tossed Elle a glare as the man laughed.

"Actually, it's my fault," the man said, "I run this carnival. Anything bad that happens is always my fault."

Claire was confused. "You run this carnival?"

"Yes, I do. My name is Joseph Sullivan." The man extended his hand. Elle eagerly shook it as she gave the suddenly frozen Claire a sidelong glance.

Elle smiled her most innocent smile. "I'm Elle. This is Claire. I'm sorry she's so rude that she's not willing to shake your hand."

Claire resisted the urge to roll her eyes and instead put on a plastic smile. This was the third soon to be dead person she had talked with in two days. Claire was worried she would have a fit. "It's nice to meet you."

"Well, since I have taken responsibility for running into you, I insist I get you both some free popcorn and show you some of the booths like the tattoo lady or my brother Samuel playing with the very elements that make this Earth, whenever he gets out of his drunken stooper that is," Joseph said with a laugh and Elle joined him. Claire offered a fake laugh herself.

She was surprised to see how well Elle was getting along with Joseph but she refused to be sucked in. "I'm sorry, we're just far too busy to do that."

"No, we're not," Elle protested with her most adorable pout. Claire felt like hell but stuck to her guns. Joseph seemed to sense that as he looked her up and down. It was not lascivious, more as if he was trying to get a read on Claire.

"The very least you could do is win your beautiful girl a bear," Joseph said as he offered Elle a warm smile.

Claire thought about immediately protesting that Elle was not her girl and she therefore did not have to win her anything but she had been pretty bad company and Elle had a hard road ahead of her. Claire figured this was the least she could do.

"Fine," Claire grumbled as she looked around. She saw an aging man hooked up to a oxygen tank as he ran a shooting range booth. It was one of those games where they made little metal moving targets in the shape of ducks. It seemed a little cruel but Claire had become good with a gun in the last few months and she just wanted to leave without running into people who would screw up the space time continuum by telling her she'd been there before when she came here with Gretchen a year from now. She never imagined coming to a carnival would give her such a headache.

'Whoever invented the concept of time travel needs to die,' Claire thought ruefully before putting a smile back on for Joseph.

"It was nice meeting you," Claire said sweetly. He smiled as if he could read her mind and for all she knew he could. With that in mind, she exchanged a goodbye nod with Joseph, turned on her heel and started towards the shooting booth.

The smile slid off her face the second she started heading towards the booth but she could hear Elle perkily telling Joseph goodbye behind her. Claire walked alone for a few seconds, which made Claire concerned that Elle had decided to electrocute him in public. Or maybe it happened involuntarily. Claire was extremely close to turning around when Elle appeared at her side.

"You were rude. Thank God, you have me to cover for you," Elle drawled as she tossed her head back dramatically.

Claire rolled her eyes but smirked in amusement nonetheless. She was having a better time than she thought.

Claire and Elle approached the line for the shooting range behind a man and his girlfriend. The man with the potbelly and low grade polyester Hawaiian shirt was obviously trying to impress the bored young women next to him by convincing her he was something more than the average business man on vacation.

Unfortunately he was suck shot. A crisp twenty dollar bill was laying on the counter. Some of his shots were near the target and some were so off they nearly hit the old man running the booth. The old man did not seem concerned as he just breathed deeply with his oxygen tank and took long blinks that were a little more subtle and relaxed than Hiro's but Claire knew the trick and glancing at Elle she seemed to pick on it too. The old man was stopping time to determine the paths of the bullets.

Elle leaned over, pointed to the middle aged man right in front of them and whispered hotly in Claire's ear, "You think I can electrocute this guy?"

The young woman next to the man, spun around with her eyes widened, apparently having heard them. Claire could not tell if the woman was scared or thrilled at the prospect of her date getting electrocuted, but Claire was not about to let even more exposure happen.

Smiling brightly Claire lied, "I'm sorry, my friend was just joking about the- taser that she has in her- boot."

Claire kicked Elle's boot for emphasis. The other woman just rolled her eyes at their behavior and turned away from them.

Elle rolled back and forth on her heels cheekily before finally saying, "taser in my boot?"

"We're not talking about this anymore and you're not threatening anyone anymore," Claire insisted.

Claire heard Elle mutter something along the lines of "yeah, whatever" and decided to ignore it in favor of watching the old man freeze time. Time travelers always fascinated her. Being control of time meant you were always losing it whereas she had nothing but time. It was torture on both sides of the line from what Claire could tell but Hiro was such an upbeat person despite everything. It gave Claire perspective. Perhaps Elle was right. She probably should use her skills to her advantage.

The man was finally making his way closer and closer to the target at what Claire could only assume was twenty dollars later by the way the man's date was checking her watch.

"Two shots left sir," the old man called out with a cough that turned into an even longer hacking cough.

"Bless you," Claire smiled as she stepped forward. The old man smiled and nodded a thank you in return.

The moment was interrupted as the big spender with the bebe gun made a big show of limbering up and cracking his knuckles before saying to his date, "I won't need two shots."

Aiming the gun the man fired off a shot that ended up about a centimeter away from the target. It was progress but it did not stop Claire and Elle from laughing at his misfortune.

The man spun around and growled, "shut up you little brats."

Elle's hand instantly began to move but Claire quickly grabbed it and took it within hers. She pulled their clasped hands behind her back as electricity began to crackle within in her palm. Claire tried to resist the urge to squirm with all the tingling electricity flowing through her. It was like liquid excitement in her veins and Claire hoped to God it was the electricity that was affecting her and not a certain someone's hand in hers.

Claire was thrilled there was continuous proof that Elle's power was electricity (Claire's skin perpetually burning and healing itself due to Elle setting her skin aflame as she thought this was exhibit a) because she could swear the smile on Elle's face could only come from somehow reading her mind and knowing that Claire actually enjoyed the way Elle's hand felt in hers.

Then again, maybe Elle liked it too...

The thought was instantly dropped as the man aimed his last shot at the target. Claire raised her eyebrows as it actually seemed like he would hit the target and win a key chain the size of a quarter. Surprisingly, the bullet suddenly turned in a completely different direction and became imbedded in one of the wooden posts.

"What just happened? That was heading right towards the target!" The man exclaimed.

The old man behind the counter shrugged. "Looks like the bullet swerved."

The bewildered customer through the gun down on the counter in a bout of confused aggression. "Bullets don't swerve."

"Normally they don't, sure. You are obviously a very skilled marksman. It's an honor to meet you, sir," The old man in the booth said as he held out his hand that trembled due to age and illness.

The customer huffily grabbed his girlfriend's wrist and stormed away without shaking the booth runners hand. The old man for his part did not seem too broken up about it as he shook his head at the man's behavior and took a long drag of oxygen out of his breathing mask.

Claire and Elle approached the white haired man with sweet smiles as he turned his own smile on them. He extended his hand out further to reach Claire, who shook it with a firm but somewhat gentle grip.

"Hi, I'm Arnold. Welcome to the shooting range. Which one of you girls will have a go?" The man running the booth asked.

Claire withdrew her hand from his grip and raised her hand in the air. "That'll be me. I'm Claire. Lovely to meet you."

The man nodded and stepped out of the way. He seemed calm but alert. Claire knew he was prepared to let Claire win by freezing time to move her bullets towards the target to impress Elle and give her an ego boost. Little did he know...

"How many shots are in this thing?" Claire asked.

Arnold leaned over slightly. "Tell you a secret?" Upon the girls nod, he continued. "This is a homemade bebe gun. It carries six shots. One gets you a keychain, two gets you a small bear, four gets you a medium sized bear and six gets you a bear twice your girlfriend's size."

The anger at yet another person just assuming that she and Elle were on a date was fresh in her gut and with that Claire offered a tight smile and let out six rapid fire shots. She was pleased at the way Arnold's eyes widened in surprise rather than closed in an attempt to freeze time. She had hit all six targets with perfect accuracy.

"And I thought I was a company girl," Elle said quietly. Claire could tell Elle was impressed and it made Claire feel warm somehow. Claire had gotten empty compliments before. She could tell that when Elle complimented her she always meant it even if she could not say it completely.

Arnold nodded appreciatively and reached his hands up to get the bear, shaking slightly as he did so.

"May I help you with that?" Claire asked.

"Not your job," Arnold said, though he began to lower his hands already.

"It's my pleasure," Claire looked around for Joseph's monitoring eyes before hopping inside the booth and helping retrieve the bear from its high up position.

Arnold used a claw device to unhook the bear from its resting place and Claire caught it, wrapping her arms around it so her fingers interlocked with each other just to hold on to it. Arnold grabbed Claire by the shoulders and spun her around to help guide her out of the booth. Claire could not see over the huge bear, her face buried in the back of its head. Elle openly chuckled at her predicament.

"Thanks for all your help, darling. Someone must have raised you right," Arnold complimented.

Claire offered a genuine smile to him as she shoved the bear in Elle's arms. "If working on gun aim and having someone as short as me offer to reach for things is being raised right than I'm not sure I want to know what wrong is."

"I'm always interested to know what wrong is," Elle chirped.

Claire's eyes snapped back to Elle. "I'm sure you are. Doesn't surprise me one bit."

Elle had not carried the bear with the same hug that Claire did. Instead she carried it in a choke hold with its large stuffing filled body dragging on the ground. It seemed fitting that Elle would carry the bear that way. Claire would not have been satisfied with anything less.

As Claire was studying the way Elle manhandled the bear, Elle had grown restless just standing there and began to pull Claire away forcefully. Claire grunted at the way Elle nearly pulled her arm out of its socket (not that it would not replace itself easily but it was still an unwelcome surprise). Claire tossed a limp wave to Arnold as they flew by and he merely waved back, apparently unfazed by the display. This was actually quite tame for them.

Claire was pulled to a jerking stop causing her to momentarily stumble and fall flat on her butt in the dirt. Claire froze for a millisecond in shock before instantly getting back on her feet and brushing the dirt off her clothes. Elle saw no reason to hide her gleeful snort at the sight.

Claire glared at Elle through the side of her eye before trying to regain the upper hand in this outing. Noticing where they were she raised an eyebrow. "The slush-o machine again? Really? You already got one when we first got here. What happened to that one?"

Elle shrugged as the liquid in the machine began to gush and rush together in sticky sugary red waves of liquid and ice. It made Claire sick in a way she could not completely process.

"I put it down somewhere. Can't remember where," Elle said, bringing Claire out of her reverie.

"We've been here less than five minutes. You already bought a bunch of sugar coated sugar, consumed a fourth of it and lost the rest. How is that possible? That's not even possible. Look, we've been exactly one place. It's probably there," Claire huffed.

"You gonna pout? You gonna cry Clairebear? Here's the thing: I lose the food. I give the guy money and suddenly there's more. It's like magic. I mean ta-da," Elle said, making a Vanna White gesture when the bored slush-o maker handed Elle her jumbo sized cup.

Before Claire could raise a finger or make a retort she found herself being pulled yet again as Elle dragged her towards the ferris wheel.

There was a surprisingly long line for people on an island showing up to a traveling carnival that was not even supposed to be here. Was the carnival waiting for her and Elle? Did they know the pair was going to be here? The carnival did have a way of presenting itself to specials.

Elle walked to the front of the line, past a throng of people. Claire gave apologetic smiles to the crowd as she was dragged along. She was met with assorted outraged "Heys," a few shouts of "just who the hell do you think you are?" and one "You look just like Sarah Michelle Gellar."

The ferris wheel came to a stop, letting people off one by one. Elle bubbly strode up to the ride operator who gave her a wary look.

"My friend and I would like the next ride please," Elle said flirtatiously before slurping out of her jumbo slush-o.

The ride operator shook his head. "Sorry, no. You're going to have to wait in line and good thing too. No food or drinks on the ride. You'll get sick."

"Yeah," Elle drawled as she turned her head to look at the long line behind her before whipping her head back towards the ride operator. "No."

Elle put a hand to the man's chest and blue sparks shot out of her fingertips causing the man to drop hard on the ground with a grunt.

Claire gaped as she crouched near the man, checking for a pulse. "Elle, what did you do?"

The crowd began to shift behind them as some people began to scream and back away from the scene and others came forward to try to figure out what happened and with what weapon.

Claire was focused on the man lying next to her, the way his eyes rolled back into his head after a few seconds. Claire was as rigid as stone when Elle pulled her along towards the ride.

"Relax, I just tased him. He'll be up in a minute," Elle said hitting a button and shooting the controls with enough electricity to superpower it. An empty car began to move on the bottom of the ferris wheel and Elle tossed herself, the bear and Claire gingerly into the car, giggling madly all the way. She pushed the safety bar down in front of them as the ferris wheel began moving upwards.

Adrenaline was pumping in Claire's veins. Ever since she jumped off the ferris wheel in New York she felt as if she was only alive when she was living for other people. Taking care of them and saving them as she tried to with the ride operator.

A mob of people began to gather along the site of the ferris wheel. Among them Claire could see Eli, Edgar and Arnold approaching. Arnold turned to Joseph to see if he should freeze time and stop whatever was happening but Joseph merely shook his head no and looked up to where Claire and Elle were ascending.

Claire wondered what could be the reason for this. Recruitment? Why would he want someone who attacked part of the carnival family? That did not seem like the Joseph so lovingly depicted by the carnival families when Claire was staying there. His expression was more grave than encouraging anyway.

Claire's eyes searched frantically as she found the Bowman family trying desperately to keep people's attention from the small mob forming by swallowing fire and breathing it back out. A Billy Idol looking Samuel was drunkenly vomiting behind the new slush-o machine; something that gave Claire a perverse sense of pleasure as his face repeatedly became obscured by the sickly sugary red currents of the syrup in the machine. It was almost poetic.

The pleasure was dashed as Arnold finally reached Joseph, gesturing towards the ferris wheel, obviously wondering why he was not allowed to stop it. Joseph's eyes darted to Lydia and Claire's stomach dropped. Lydia could see desires. Did they want her or Elle?

Elle persistently tugged on Claire's arm, somewhat roughly but Claire could not move and give her the attention she was obviously craving. Claire stayed with her eyes just barely peaking over the edge of the ride to hide her identity from the many people she recognized but she was tempted to reach out at any moment, get closer and beg for answers.

Finally, Lydia turned away from the crowd. She was in a completely backless dress and Joseph rushed to cover her with a blanket resting on a table. He covered her very quickly and no one noticed what was on her back. No one was really looking except for Claire. But Claire saw it.

On Lydia's back was a tattoo. Her tattoos did not just reveal desires but desired information. Claire remembered that much. She wondered which this was.

The tattoo depicted something that looked like lightning bolts overtaking a ferris wheel. It featured sparks shooting out over a terrified crowd as the ferris wheel seemed to be tipping over. Something that Claire could barely make out on the tattoo in the seconds it took to get to the top of the ferris wheel was a flaming ferris wheel car that seemed to have broken off from the ferris wheel. There was motioning lines coming from it. It was careening to the ground and Claire felt somewhere in her heart that it was her and Elle in the flaming car. She was relieved.

It was twisted that she was relieved but she was. At least it would not be some random innocent child like the one currently crying two cars away from them.

Claire noticed for the first time that Elle's persistent shaking of her caused the car they were into repeatedly rock back and forth until it was moving completely out of control. The frame of the ferris wheel began to shake and Claire finally turned her attention back to her friend.

Elle was unusually pale and a little green looking which surprised Claire and made her instantly concerned. She gently brushed the back of her hand against Elle's forehead checking her temperature. Elle tentatively dusted her fingers over Claire's and winced as if the simple tentative caress caused her some form of pain.

The giant slush-o tumbled out of Elle's other hand and Claire's eyes followed it on a long, messy descent to the ground. It began to look like a blood spatter.

Claire refocused on Elle. She looked so broken and Claire felt that piece of herself tug. The part that wanted to put everyone first and save everyone first. Funny she was feeling this way on a ferris wheel. It is what caused this feeling in the first place. The moment she jumped off the ferris wheel, the moment she became a role model, a spokesman, the moment the suspicion started, the moment the violence started was the start of her becoming the person she was today.

It was like a disease that ate up and infected the person she was until she could barely function unless she was living to take care and help someone else. She could barely remember how to live for herself. She had not done it in a very long time. Not really.

"I shouldn't have had that drink before getting on the ride. You were right," Elle admitted, gritting her teeth even as she did so. Elle hated being vulnerable and imperfect and Claire sensed she hated being those things even more in Claire's eyes.

They were so messed up but now was not the time for that. Claire cradled Elle's head under the crook of her neck and began rubbing soothing circles on her back as her eyes drifted over the beach and the ocean directly behind Elle. Elle did not lean into the embrace nor respond in any way except by letting her body be led by Claire.

"You were right," Elle repeated. "You were right and now I don't feel good and I can't control it."

Before Claire could think about what that meant she saw the lights that lined the ferris wheel getting extremely bright, too bright and she knew. Claire looked down at Elle's hand where the biggest electricity ball she had ever seen was glowing. Sparks shot out and struck left and right and all over the ferris wheel. People were jumping and screaming. They swayed the ferris wheel even more.

Claire interlocked her hands with Elle's. The skin started to burn off her hands and to her surprise Elle's skin was slightly burned too. It was just barely but she was still not completely immune to her own power.

"What's happening?" Elle whispered as lightning danced in her eyes causing her to blink hard. She was disoriented and unfocused. It was making the electricity pump out more uncontrollably and frequently. The ferris wheel was starting to shake with power.

"Somebody help us," A voice called from on the ferris wheel.

Joseph jumped onto the platform of the ferris wheel and stopped the ride so that Elle and Claire were stuck at the top. Claire knew it was too dangerous to evacuate the ride. Anyone who tried might get electrocuted. Claire saw several bodies of people on the ride go limp as they were electrocuted through the metal safety bar. She had to act fast.

Claire gripped Elle's hands tighter despite the pain Elle was in. Claire needed her to focus on something. She prepared herself to give Elle her undivided attention and surrender herself into helping Elle.

"Look, you have to stay with me, okay? Put all your energy into me. Just look in my eyes, be in my eyes. You can do this. You're strong enough. You are so much more amazing than you think. Just put everything you got into me," Claire assured her.

Elle looked so scared still. She was in so much pain. "Are you sure? What's that going to do?"

"Trust me. I can take everything you got. I'm the only one who can. I can be what you need Elle. I'm the only one but I'm going to save you I swear," Claire said with more passion than she wanted to but her nerves were raw and she was desperate to save lives as the tiny lights that lined the ferris wheel began to explode into little shards with too much power.

With one last gulp, Elle looked deep into Claire's eyes and concentrated.

The electricity surged over Claire's skin and burned holes in her clothes. It filled her up and made her dizzy. It tingled everywhere but it was the most she could physically feel in a long time. Every cell in her body was regenerating every second. She was all new while Elle continued to hurt but remained strong, focusing.

Things seemed to quiet everywhere while Claire looked into Elle's eyes. Claire did not know if it was because her plan was working or something else...

In a moment it was all lost.

Joseph's voice rang out into the night air. "Finish this."

Claire turned her head to see what was going on. The electricity seemed to have calmed down quite a bit. The ferris wheel had stopped shaking but Elle's power had not been contained, not completely.

Claire did not blame Joseph for being confused but she could blame him for what came next.

Claire turned back to Elle. The concentration had been broken and Elle began shooting out electricity everywhere. Elle was losing more and more control when a drop of water fell on her skin. Then another and another. Claire felt them too and in a second it was drizzling, in another second it was raining, another and it was pouring. Claire looked to Joseph who knew it was happening, had planned it. There was someone at this carnival who could control the weather. Claire had not met them before but maybe they were like Arnold and died before Claire got there. The fact remained someone at this damn carnival could control the fucking weather.

Claire turned back to Elle who was in tears as the electricity continued to build inside her. It hurt so much she began to scream. Claire took her in her arms. She knew what was coming. She wrapped her body around Elle and waited for the inevitable. They were in a lightning storm that was about to turn into an electricity storm. Joseph made the wrong move and now it was time to deal with it.

Within moments electricity exploded from Elle's body and surround them in a huge ball. For a second Claire was numb, all she could see was light and she was not able to breathe. The ferris wheel turned off and on many times and began to sway violently with all the power that exploded.

Their car began to sway and instantly fell off to the side when the ferris wheel swayed too greatly towards the ocean. Claire and Elle fell as the remaining electricity set them both on fire due to their close proximity. Lydia's tattoo had come true. Claire knew without having to see it from the perspective of the wailing people on the ground.

Claire heard rusting metal coming apart and scraping against itself but she merely held onto Elle with everything that she was as they made their descent towards the beach. Claire covered as much of Elle's body's with hers as she could, positioned herself to take the impact of the fall.

The last thing Claire saw on the way down was they way the lightning struck a patch of sand and turned it to glass...


	6. Chapter 6

Title: "The Road Not Taken"

Rating: PG-13 probably.

Pairings: Claire/Elle, Claire/Gretchen

Summary: When Claire goes back in time to save Elle, her relationship with Gretchen is threatened.

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show "Heroes" or the song "Where Are You Now" by The Summer Set.

Note: Takes place after "Brave New World." The past takes place after "The Butterfly Effect."

Chapter 6

Claire died so many times her life stopped flashing before her eyes. This time though as she began to crash to the ground with her body firmly around Elle, she was overcome with the music playing through the speakers. Little snippets of moments from the past started to flash in her mind.

_I've been staying awake in the front seat for days  
Let the wheel turn and take me away_

"_We're almost there. According the map we're only a few miles away from Pinehearst," Claire laughed in relieved disbelief._

_Elle began to laugh as well; a sexy, psychotic and intoxicating laugh. She rolled her head to the side staring admiringly at Claire. "I can't believe we made it. We made it. Together."_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Oh, the truth I must tell  
Is I'm lonely as hell  
Still looking for myself_

_Claire paced around the guestroom of the Petrelli estate as she rubbed her temples. Gretchen stared at her; the only motion she had was her eyes following Claire back and forth across the room._

"_What am I going to do? What am I going to do?" Claire asked frantically. Gretchen was not sure if it was a rhetorical question or not._

"_Wait, you didn't figure that out before?" Gretchen asked. Claire responded to her with a glare. "I'm sorry. You just changed the whole world by jumping off a ferris wheel. I just thought that's something you would put thought into."_

_Claire paused in her steps. "I did. Lots of thoughts. Just no actual plan in the two minutes it took me to do it."_

_Claire and Gretchen shared a mutual smirk before Gretchen meaningfully said, "Well, whatever happens I'm always here for you."_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
It rains all day when you're not around  
And I'm trying my best to come clean with the clouds  
They follow me around  
I'll dance 'till the rain comes down_

_Another slow day at cheerleading practice and Claire can feel eyes burning into her as she jumps and flips and splits. Brody is still a vegetable and as good a friend as Zach is, he would rather watch "Battlestar Galactica" than watch her do the same routines everyday after school. So, who is watching? Whoever they were was not exactly unwelcomed._

_Claire tries to subtly look around her while still keeping up with the cheers. She freezes as she sees a flash of blonde hair disappear behind the bleachers. _

_The blonde haired mystery person disappears as quickly as they appeared and Claire feels loss._

Stuck in the sand with the waves at my feet  
And I wish you'd come crash into me

_A beach side meeting. Trading Claire for Elle. Claire left Bob Bishop's side and headed towards her father and West. She knew she was supposed to be happy about being reunited with her boyfriend but her attention was captured by the blonde that past right by her. A look was exchanged that burned through her and scorched her right to her core._

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
'Cause where you are is where I wanna be now  
Where are you now?  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

_Claire still could not believe she was here but did not want her to leave again._

"_Well, you know the other side of the room is still available," Claire immediately offered with hope in her voice. She dashed the idea as soon as she said it. Gretchen already left her once. "Sorry. You're right. I don't know why you would ever want to move in with me again."_

_Gretchen smiled. "Maybe because, all the people I've met in college so far, you're the only one whose ever made any sense to me."_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
And I know I'm not perfect but what the hell  
Do you think of me now?  
Do you think of me now?_

"_And I'm not stalking you. Okay, maybe I'm a little bit stalking you, but it's not what you think. It's just..." Gretchen paused and for good reason Claire felt. It was hard to prove your innocence when you basically admitted to the crime but Gretchen did seem desperate to prove herself and unsure how._

_She seemed to come up with a solution to that problem when Gretchen closed the gap between them and pulled Claire's face to hers in a kiss. When they pulled apart Claire stared at her roommate in a shocked daze._

"_I have a crush." Gretchen smiled. "I'm crushing- on you." _

_Gretchen waited for a response but Claire could barely think. Less than a minute ago Claire was worried that Gretchen may be a murderer. It may be illogical to drop Gretchen as a suspect just after one kiss, but it was a surprisingly good kiss..._

_At Claire's non response, Gretchen began to panic. "Say something!"_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
They say that love is for the patient  
Gotta plan for being restless for now_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Electricity charged through Elle and Claire at the same time. It should have been painful but instead it was overpowering, intoxicating, fulfilling. It was something Claire could feel inside and out. Something she could really and truly feel. It was almost the only thing Claire was aware she could feel along with the feel of Elle's hand in hers._

_They had enough power between them to keep planes up in the air._

_The moment ended all too soon and Elle demanded her hand back. Claire reluctantly let her hand go. Nothing was quite the same after that._

Hope I'm more than a cheap trick you played on yourself  
But I do it so well  
Yeah, I'm doing so well

_They follow me around_

_Claire did as she was instructed after bracing herself for a moment in preparation of seeing another girl she never thought she would see again._

"_Elle?" _

_Sensing she was being mentioned the girl drew her head up, lightly shaking her hair out of the way as Claire's breath hitched in her throat. With the quietest whisper she ever managed the girl's name tumbled out of Claire's lips in shock. "Gretchen?" _

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
I'll dance 'till the rain comes down_

Stuck in the sand with the waves at my feet  
And I wish you'd come crash into me  
'Cause where you are is where I wanna be now  
Where are you now?

_Claire needed the ride to end immediately. Twenty odd hours in the car with Gretchen was not good for her resistance. _

_She almost kissed her twice. The way their hands touched as they reached to change the station on the radio. Glancing at each other over diner menus. Glancing over at Gretchen throughout, surprised each time she was risking life and limb just because it was what Claire wanted. _

_Traveled all this way alone with Claire on the way to... a carnival?  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

_A rainbow of lights alternately flashed across Elle's face as she stared in wonder at the various trailers and tents of games, food and rides. Coming to a place like this as a free person was a new opportunity for Elle, one she would probably share with father ideally but he was gone and Claire was here. Instead of the anger, fear or depression that Claire expected Elle would be feeling there was nothing but unabashed joy and wonder at the sight before her._

_With a renewed feeling of well being, Claire grabbed Elle's hand and began leading her inside the carnival. _

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
But when I leave  
She walks and she talks and she stirs my feet  
Like she's sleeping next to me_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Elle fell asleep in the car on the ride to Pinehearst. Claire could not believe it. It was as if Elle actually felt safe with her. She was so vulnerable and in so much pain but that would all be over soon. Claire would see to it._

_A light turned red and a sense of foreboding came over her. She did not know what she and Elle would find at Pinehearst but she had this strange feeling she would be okay with Elle at her side. They made a good team and had each other's backs._

_With a sigh, Claire glanced in Elle's direction and moved a strand of hair off Elle's forehead. Elle moved slightly, almost waking up._

_Claire woke up in Gretchen's arms, shifting slightly as she was surprised at her predicament. _

_When she had nightmares as a small child, sometimes her mother Sandra would cradle her while she got back to sleep. But this was different._

_She had never spent the night in the arms of someone she was in a relationship with. She laid in West's arms after her father "died" and Alex was practically living in her closet but Gretchen was holding her just because she wanted to. No lives were at stake, none were lost, no end of the world. They were just being. With that thought Claire went peacefully back to sleep in Gretchen's arms._

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
It doesn't matter where we are  
It doesn't matter where we are  
It doesn't matter if we're states apart  
She loves me _

_A series of images of the two girls flashed in Claire's mind until finally..._

Claire's eyes opened with a start. She inhaled breath as her lungs were almost empty. Her body started to heal instantly and when she blinked she could of sworn she saw Gretchen looking down at her from her dorm room with a small wave.

She blinked again and saw it was in fact Elle standing over her with a large piece of metal covered in blood.

"What happened?" Claire asked as she began to snap her bones back into place.

"I just pulled this thing out of your head. You've been dead for like two minutes," Elle explained.

If she was dead, than what the hell did Claire just see? And what did it mean?

Elle used both hands to yank Claire up off the ground. Claire was strangely calm given the circumstances. It was all very familiar to her (except the weird dream part). She had died and come back so many times already.

"Do you know how many sticks I had to pull out of your head to get the right one?" Elle asked, running away the moment Claire got to her feet. Claire merely walked along. Her head was spinning.

There were trees all over the place which was probably good cover for hiding until everything settled but Elle was not headed that way. Claire wondered why when she turned to the side and got her answer.

She saw a big fire going on at the carnival. It had stopped raining since she had been out though her hair was still damp, dripping. Joseph probably wised up to the effect the rain had on Elle's power which could lead to more damage. Still, it was a big fire and Claire could understand not wanting to be kindling.

Claire's eyes darted to the glass that had formed in the middle of the beach. She wondered if it was hot or warm. Either way she should not go near it. Just keep pushing forward. She wondered if the news would cover the freak thunderstorm and fire. It was something that Claire could do without. The best thing about traveling to the past was usually escape from the cameras.

Of course that was before a certain couple of girls waltzed in and out of her life. Now she did not know what she wanted.

"Hurry up," Elle called as she ran, facing backwards for a few moments before turning around and sprinting even more.

Claire looked around. There were people from the carnival starting to look around the area. Claire decided to avoid the patrol. With a roll of her shoulders, she straightened up and quickened her pace, running after Elle.

They ran for a good mile when Elle collapsed on the sand a few feet in front of her. Claire ran forward even faster than before as she rushed to Elle's side.

"Are you okay?" Claire asked, lightly patting Elle's body up and down. "You okay? You good?"

"Yeah, I just haven't run this fast and far in a very long time. I think I have a leg cramp," Elle said, squirming a little in the sand.

Claire laughed and threw herself down on the sand so she was sitting next to Elle. It was a relief. The first one in awhile.

"Which leg?" Claire asked pointing a finger to both. Elle tapped her right leg and Claire set to work on it. She focused completely on massaging Elle's leg. The simple task was enough to give her a piece of mind during all the chaos. She did not see anyone following them anyway.

She rubbed in alternating circles and patterns. Sometimes her touch was soft and only occasionally deep as she did not know what the damage was or how hurt Elle actually was. It may not have been a formulaic massage but instinctual.

She took pleasure in the easy task of doing something she knew how to do. The human body and pain were something Claire knew a lot about and was very intimately interested in as a normal human body and physical pain was something she could never have, not for more than a moment. Even when normality was within her reach it was just out of her reach. She was dealing with it though.

She was learning to deal with it and take her place as who she was with the help of her loved ones. She had her parents, her brother, her dog, her girlfriend-

She was brought out of these thoughts as Elle's lips were suddenly pressed against hers. Claire was startled by the action as the bubble gum flavored lips past over hers, demanding entrance to something more. Claire tried to pull away but Elle followed her, ever latched to her lips.

Claire backed away farther and farther on her knees (admittedly not trying hard enough) until she was pinned on the beach under Elle. She closed her eyes, indulging as the persistent lips slid against hers until Claire finally and roughly placed both her hands on Elle's shoulders and pushed her away. A volt of electricity shot out between their parting lips, something Claire was not aware was going on the whole time.

Claire quickly got to her feet, scrambling and stumbling across the shifting sand to put some distance between them. When Claire turned around Elle was still laying with her back against the sand, supported by her elbows, looking more surprised by the recent turn of events than Claire was and Claire was pretty damned surprised.

"Why'd you pull away?" Elle asked.

Claire threw her hands in the air. "Isn't it obvious?"

"It felt good. You wanted it to happen. So, why stop?" Elle asked with a shrug.

Claire shook her head at the simple and instant explanation. "Do you have no control over your impulses?"

Elle rolled her eyes and began to push herself up and cross her legs so she was sitting Indian style. "No, because I'm not a total killjoy like you. I lived my whole life in a cage and I'm not going to do it anymore. You should know that. Besides you did not dispute a single thing I said."

"I didn't want the kiss to happen," Claire replied quickly.

Elle narrowed her eyes, "Liar."

"I didn't want the kiss to happen. I didn't want the kiss to happen. I didn't want the kiss to HAPPEN!" Claire's voice broke with emotion as finally she yelled.

Elle balled her hands into tiny fists as if she was trying to contain an explosion inside her. Perhaps she was.

"How many times are you going to keep saying that?" Elle gritted.

"Until you get it," Claire shot back.

Elle removed her excessively strappy high heels and tossed them a few feet away from her, revealing red blotchy strain marks now on her feet. It was fitting with all the running, physicality and fire damage they were both engaged in this evening. "Don't pretend you and I didn't both feel something. There is something between us."

Claire nodded. "Yes, anger, annoyance and violence."

"Something more," Elle whined.

"Something electric," Claire teased as she shook her head, trying to be cruel but not quite having the will to do so.

Elle nodded either ignoring Claire's sarcasm or ignorant of it. "Yes."

Claire scoffed and started to walk away before stopping and heading back where she was. She was not going to leave Elle alone seeing as the entire purpose of her being here was to protect her and be her somewhat bodyguard. It was also kind of her fault they were in this situation in the first place. If Claire looked deeper she could admit to herself that she did not want to leave Elle just because. Elle was infuriating but something kept drawing Claire in. Elle needed her as more than just a bodyguard.

Elle stood up and though Claire remained in place she turned away from the other girl, trying desperately to keep the distance between them yet remaining unable to pull away completely.

"You and I have a connection. We get each other, we care about each other." Elle said, causing Claire to turn around, eyes skeptical but hopeful. " I'm not one to admit to caring about someone... ever. Every time I've ever done that I've been disappointed. But I'm saying it now. I don't know why you care but you do. You're good and you're beautiful and you care about me. Or do you take all the people you're assigned to protect to carnivals and win them bears and save their lives?"

Tears were coming from Claire's eyes and she did not know why. She knew she owed Elle the truth. Or some form of it. "I have thought about kissing you. I have wanted it to happen. I didn't think it would be like that. It was nice, better than I expected."

A happy grin came across Elle's face as she raced forward. Claire closed her eyes, unable to face tearing Elle's heart in two even as her own heart felt like it was ripping at the moment. "I have someone."

Elle stopped in her tracks, an annoyed look across her face. She thought Claire was making excuses and being difficult. She was.

"You have someone? Who?" Elle challenged.

Claire shook her head. "I'm not going to tell you about her."

Emotion started to break through Elle's face then, her lips twitching and trembling with emotion. She almost snarled. "Her? There's a her?"

"Yes. I'm taking you home now," Claire turned around and began speed walking down the beach. She had no idea where they were but she was sure they would hit somewhere eventually.

Elle darted in front of Claire, walking backwards so she could face her and attempt to catch her eyes. "Who's her? Someone from the mansion?"

Claire attempted to sidestep Elle but Elle bobbed and weaved left and right, not letting her go as she repeated, "Someone from the mansion?"

"I don't want to get into this with you," Claire answered, futilely trying to get around Elle.

"Just answer me!" Elle screamed. "You owe me that much."

Claire let out a sigh but she was not going to run away. Not this time. "Yes, someone from the mansion."

"You've been there for two days. That's not a someone. That's someone whose so bored of spending time with their family that they try to bang the maid," Elle snapped.

Claire crossed her arms angrily and stopped in her tracks. "It's not like that."

"That's exactly what it is. I saw it one time on an episode of what I thought was 'The Young and the Restless.' Rich people are vicious and bored with each other. I know. I was rich when my dad made gold," Elle said.

Claire dropped her arms and walked dangerously close to Elle's face, before repeating "It's not like that."

Elle rolled her eyes at Claire's sentiment. "Didn't you say last night that the dad was leering at you and had a weirdly young wife? It is a her right? Not the dad? I mean, I always sensed you had a thing for those older ones."

"It's the daughter, okay?" Claire snapped.

Elle clapped her hands together. "Well, there you go. Like father, like daughter."

"All the random cliches you come up with can't sway me. I unlike you, don't live in a fantasy world. I care about facts," Claire snapped.

"Okay, let's lay out the facts. You've been here for a couple days. What have you and this 'her' been doing in this time?" Elle taunted, leaning in even closer so her skin brushed against Claire.

Claire jerked away, trying to keep a clear head.

"We met, talked, saw the stars, I made her some food, we're supposed to be seeing a movie," Claire paused as she checked her now cracked and dented watch, "right about now actually. I got to head home."

"Home? Home?" Elle laughed and Claire could not believe that Elle felt sorry for _her_.

"Question?" Elle asked perkily.

Claire rubbed her eyes irritated. "Shut up Elle."

"No," Elle shot back, changing her stance as if she was preparing for battle. "Does anyone else in that mansion consider it your home? Anyone?"

Claire let her hands fall from her face before resignedly admitting, "No."

"I see," Elle nodded. "If someone told you their only interaction with someone was meeting them, looking at stars, sharing food and a movie, would you say they were dating and at least one of them was probably trying to get a nice piece of ass?"

Claire shrugged annoyed. "I don't know."

"Liar," Elle said easily before holding up three fingers, "three, my father was a killer and so am I. You're dad was a jerk and you're kind of a jerk (but I find it kind of cute). So, doesn't it stand to reason the rich pervy old guy bore the rich pervy young girl?"

"You have no idea what you're talking about. I know her in the present," Claire screamed.

"This is the present," Elle yelled back. No longer laughing, suddenly fighting as Claire watched Elle shake and suffer as Claire continued her defense of Gretchen. Elle did not expect Claire to fight this hard. She did not expect that there was really someone Claire cared about other than her, possibly more than her.

"No, no it's not. I'm from over a year from now. That is the present. That is my present. I know this person. I-" Claire nearly sobbed before getting interrupted by Elle.

"I made Sylar," Elle admittedly quietly. Elle had suddenly stopped fighting. She was suddenly at peace. Not at war with Claire or herself. She had finally said the thing that could shake Claire completely and make her reevaluate. Claire could not believe it.

"What?" Claire whispered.

Elle shifted quietly before walking towards the ocean. She spoke with her eyes focused on the waves. "He took his first life and he was going to kill himself. He was actually going to die and never hurt anyone else ever. And I saved him because I was assigned to see what happened next. No empathy. No sympathy. I just sat by while the monster was born. I wouldn't do that now. I tried to stop him so many times since then. Tried to defend myself. Tried to kill him to save anybody else, everybody else. People can change in the span of a year. I did."

Claire stared at Elle's form a few minutes unable to move as she waited for a sign, any sign that it was an evil cruel joke, that it was a lie, a dream. Anything but the truth. Sylar may be a hero now but all those people he killed, everything he did, what he did to her and the people she loved (including Elle), that Elle was somehow, someway connected to that much evil. It was all too much. It built inside of her until she could not take it anymore and ended up in the sand. She vomited.

"If you care about this person and love them like you love me-" Elle started before getting interrupted by Claire.

"I don't love you," Claire protested as she dry heaved on all fours.

Elle was silent for a moment and Claire wanted to care but she could not. The confession was like a corrosive acid that hollowed her out, taking all the purity and trust and feelings that she could use at the moment and destroyed them until they were nothing more than a memory.

With tears in her voice, Elle finally said, "if you care about this person and love them like I think you loved me, know that they can just as big a monster as I was. They could be just as worthless as I am to you."

Claire knew that Elle was waiting for some comfort or dispute of her words. Waiting for their lips to meet once again even though they were still tingling after their last meeting. She was waiting for Claire to be the version of Claire in her mind and do the right thing.

Claire just could not do it. She had a movie date that she needed to get to and she now knew it could change everything forever.


	7. Chapter 7

Title: "The Road Not Taken"

Rating: PG-13 probably.

Pairings: Claire/Elle, Claire/Gretchen

Summary: When Claire goes back in time to save Elle, her relationship with Gretchen is threatened.

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show "Heroes."

Note: Takes place after "Brave New World." The past takes place after "The Butterfly Effect." Thank you Lied and She-Hulk from the BAM Board for all your help.

Chapter 7

Claire walked into the small basement theater quietly at what she could tell was the end of the movie. Elle's words were still ringing in her head as she took a seat next to Gretchen who did not spare a look in her direction. Elaine and Ben had just boarded the bus and had the infamous scene where their faces said a thousand words. The credits started to roll.

Trying to control her tone, Claire decided to ask a question, but which one? "What do you think the end of the movie means?"

"I don't know," Gretchen said after a moment. She swallowed and still did not look at Claire. "It's kind of opened ended. I guess to me it seemed like that question."

"Question?" Claire interrupted.

"Were they running from something or to something? They didn't like their families or their situation. Ben didn't know what he was going to do with his life and probably still doesn't know. Their parents were business partners and that's probably ruined. She's already married. No family help, no plan, no getting married for them. Where are they going? It's the kind of thing that happens when you're running from someone instead of to someone. Ever been there?" Gretchen asked finally training her gaze on Claire.

Of course Claire had been there. She felt like she was running away from Gretchen's death to this place, to Elle. She felt as if she was running from Elle to Gretchen given the events of tonight. Two girls who she deeply cared for and she could not stop running in between them because of the secrets they carried. The secrets all three of them carried.

If Gretchen was expecting to get a reaction from Claire, she would be disappointed. But Claire knew that look, probing and inquisitive. She never got tired of trying to get answers from Claire, no matter how much it was like pulling teeth. In some ways she had let Gretchen in more than anyone. She was literally seconds away from losing her virginity to her. Now, she was finding out Gretchen did not let her in, in the same way.

Her Gretchen held her as Claire cried in her arms about her Nathan's death. She was the only one Claire let herself cry with about Nathan's death. Now, it was turning out maybe Elle was right. Maybe this Gretchen and her Gretchen were both strangers to her. Maybe she did not know Gretchen Berg at all. And this Gretchen had the nerve to probe her like this, shake her confidence in Elle and her Gretchen for that matter. Claire could not take it anymore.

"You're trying to do the dinner and movie thing with me? Prying into my deep dark tortured soul now with your questions? Do you do this with all the maids or just the ones you want to fuck? Like father, like daughter," Claire snapped.

Gretchen slowly rose from her seat. "Excuse me?"

"Isn't that your angle? Or maybe you're just bored spending time with your family who you obviously don't care about," Claire said before freezing at the look of vulnerability that flashed openly across Gretchen's face. It was something Claire forgot about in all her confusion and anger. Emotionally Gretchen was an open book. Maybe it was Claire who never took an interest in Gretchen's past. Gretchen certainly was not hiding the way she felt about her family the way she winced the millisecond Claire's words hit her as if she had just taken a punch. Maybe she did.

"I love my father. He's actually a decent guy and if you haven't noticed, as far as I know neither of us tried to fuck you in the- how long has it been? Oh yeah. Two days since you've been here. You are the one who kissed me. Not the other way around," Gretchen said with venom practically dripping from her words.

She turned and jumped over the rows of seats behind her before heading up the stairs to the main house. Claire was right behind her, practically chasing her all the way to her room.

"I'm sorry but what was I supposed to think?" Claire whispered sharply, hoping Gretchen would hear her without the rest of the house eavesdropping on their conversation. Unfortunately for her she got her wish.

Gretchen spun around when she reached her room, blocking the entrance. "You weren't supposed to think anything. We have been nothing but kind and understanding to you, but hey maybe that's what YOU wanted."

"Well, of course," Claire said, unsure where the conversation was heading.

"In two days you've been out God knows where, you've been on a date at a carnival and you've been unconscious for almost an entire day. Not to mention yet again that you kissed me! Maybe you're doing this to get out of your duties or get at the heiress to a nice house?" Gretchen spat almost ferociously if Claire could not tell her anger actually covered that she was just wounded by Claire's accusations.

Unfortunately, Claire was now too upset and rattled to care as she gasped at the accusation she got in return. "This house looks like a train wreck freak show and I told you as much this morning."

Claire would have continued but Gretchen began to shout over her. "You do not get to make judgements about my family!"

"You can't tell me how to feel or what opinions to form or how I express them," Claire yelled back.

"Fine," Gretchen growled, stepping in impossibly close. There was a dangerous look in her eyes that Claire was familiar with but she was not used to having it directed at her. It was a protective look. The one she would focus on people who attacked Claire. Claire was now pleased and heartbroken to finally realize it was look Gretchen used when defending her family.

"You can think and feel whatever you want about whoever you want, but you are not allowed to come into my home and attack my family. You are never allowed to do that. Now, if you have any sense of kindness and decency anywhere in you, you will leave me alone right now. I think you've said quite enough," Gretchen began closing her door as Claire stuck out a hand to keep it from closing all the way.

"Listen," Claire began but Gretchen's rapidly descending tears stopped her. They were just like the syrup in the slusho machine, the rain against the walls of the mansion, and Claire cursed herself to think it but just like the blood dripping in her nightmare.

"Just don't okay," Gretchen warbled. "I know what you think of me- of us. I don't really want to hear anymore."

Gretchen's door closed with a resounding click. Claire's arms fell limply to her sides as she wondered what just happened. Somehow she knew. Gretchen happened. Elle happened. They were both proving too much for her but she could not let either of them go. Even now she knew at some point she had to. At some point she had to make a consistent choice.

Tonight that choice was to sleep. Claire trudged slowly to her room, ever alert for the prying eyes of the rest of the Berg family but she could not find them anywhere. She nudged the door to her bedroom open with her body and closed the door resolutely behind her. She rushed forward and gained just enough momentum to crash satisfyingly on top of her bed. She bounced for a moment after and heard something crunch beneath her fingertips.

Her eyes opened just enough to see a note lying on the pillow next to her. Tilting her head slightly she examined Rene's elegant scrawl which noted that he was captaining a boat that was currently taking the rest of the Berg family on a midnight boat ride. Gretchen had apparently forgone the bonding to spend time with Claire. With the ache of that thought lodged firmly in her heart, Claire crunched the letter into a ball in her hand and settled into a deep and unsatisfying sleep.

_Sirens went off, the lights from the red alarms coloring a good portion of the building. Doors and barriers were closing in everywhere. Bars were closing over the windows. She was making progress. Faster than anyone expected. Claire knew better than to underestimate her. If they were not on top of their game she would make it out of the building._

_A cloaked figure darted from screen to screen as she was caught by different security monitors. Finally, Claire saw her in person. She ran powerfully like a tiger in the shadows- and managed to knock out all of Claire's backup with some well placed high kicks. _

_Taking the last minute initiative she was known to use Claire threw herself suddenly in the woman's path where a simple kick that was meant to knock her out ended up snapping Claire's neck._

_Claire woke up on the floor a few seconds later to find as she suspected, the woman had stayed out of concern for Claire's well being. She did not want to hurt anyone._

_Relying on her instincts, Claire slowly pushed herself to her knees and greeted the woman. "No need to leave so soon St. Joan. Or should I call you Miss Dawson? Monica?"_

_The woman removed her mask with a disbelieving smirk on her face. "The spokeswoman for superpowers herself. I heard a lot about you."_

"_I did a lot of work for Rebel," Claire confirmed as she got to her feet._

"_That wasn't what I was referring to," Monica said as she looked Claire up and down with mistrust._

_Claire sighed. "I can help you."_

"_Doubt that," Monica shrugged and continued her walk to the only open window of the floor. It was the only exit of the whole building. Claire planned it that way. It was not the only trick she had up her sleeve._

"_I can help you by helping Micah. He needs a transplant. I'm a universal donor. I know what it's like to care about someone so much you're willing to do anything for them. Now, do you want to trust me or risk blindly jumping out of the top window of a ten story building just to get away from me, because I may heal from that but you can't," Claire said, stepping forward until Monica was backed against the window in an attempt to keep her distance._

"_Do you really know what's it's like to care about someone until you're willing to do anything? Micah's my family and I love him and I will find him a healer. No matter what nice things he says about you, it just seems to me that you only care about people and their wants when they coincide with what you care about and want. Do you really care about anyone other than yourself?" Monica asked. Before Claire had a chance to even attempt to answer, Monica dove headfirst out of the window. _

Claire woke to a persistent knocking on her door. Turning her body slowly, she swung her feet off the bed. She took a few sleepy steps and opened the door to find Gretchen poised with a smug grin on her lips and a freshly opened manila envelope in her hands.

"Busted," was all Gretchen uttered before turning on her heels and leaving. Claire followed her as she felt that was what Gretchen wanted. She found Gretchen putting the finishing touches on her hair in a full length mirror. Her hair could not look more perfectly straight if she tried. She was trying to get Claire's attention. Claire just did not know why.

Claire stepped into Gretchen's room and closed the door before leaning up against it. "What did you just mean?"

Gretchen turned to her with a bright grin on her face. The sun was streaming through the walls behind her. It almost made her look angelic were it not for the sinking feeling Claire had in her stomach. "It means did you honestly think that because my dad wears yoga pants all day, he's somehow an idiot? Did you not think he'd run a background check on you?"

This caused Claire to stand up right. She was truly awake now with adrenaline pumping through her veins. "Background check?"

"Yup." Gretchen walked towards the door as she reopened the envelope and began to flip through the contents. "Guess what? I thought you were a girl named Claire Petrelli but you're not. I thought you were someone I liked and it turns out you're not. Surprise, surprise."

"Your family knows?" Claire asked in terror.

Gretchen shook her head no. "It was delivered by special mail this morning. I intercepted it before my family ever saw it. Wanted to break the good news myself."

"Look, please, you cannot tell anyone what you found out about me. I need to be here, right here, right now. I need to go by Claire Petrelli, okay? Please, please. It's really important," Claire begged as she dodged and darted in attempt to keep Gretchen from leaving the room.

Gretchen gently grasped Claire's shoulders and tried to move her aside. Claire was surprised that Gretchen was still being gentle with her given all that just happened between them. Her words may be vicious but Gretchen was not a monster. Claire knew what she had to do.

"Please, I have to work here. Lives depend on it," Claire said. Gretchen's hands froze on the doorknob.

Gretchen turned back to her, sympathy flashing in her eyes before her features hardened. "I don't really want to hear your sob story. I can't really believe anything you say anymore anyway."

"Okay, yes, true. I hid my name-" Claire said before getting interrupted.

"Yes, you're good at hiding things," Gretchen snapped as her hand dropped from the door handle. It was all too familiar but it made the hurt in her eyes even more recognizable.

"I can prove it. I can prove everything. It was in the newspaper, you can see for yourself," Claire gestured to Gretchen's laptop on her desk that was currently in sleep mode. Gretchen hesitantly took a seat at the desk and began to fiddle with the computer to turn it on and Claire looked around the room.

Claire recognized a lot of the stuff from the dorm and later their apartment. Her bed was smaller later but the sheets and quilt were the same pattern. A lot of the same decorations were there as well as belongings but some things were conspicuously present that were missing in their life as she knew it. Gretchen had glow in the dark star stickers covering the ceiling and Claire now knew they were in the formation of actual constellations. There were science mobiles lining the walls showing the planets and eclipses. A collection of comic books were on the same book case that had her dvd collection. She had another bookcase that was full of books, a majority of them that seemed to be associated with science. Chandra Suresh's book was among them. There was also a couple books on movies and music and art. Those were the only ones Claire had seen Gretchen bring to college that were not merely entertainment reading. Claire and Gretchen once bonded over trying to make a new start for themselves in college. The funny thing is neither could hide who they were. They were both freaks. Maybe that is how they ended up together.

"Okay," Gretchen said with her computer free of any programs.

"Turn on the internet," Claire gently prompted with an almost hidden smile.

"Oh, right. I mean... right," Gretchen said, doing a couple double-takes on Claire's face before hitting a few keys. A browser came up.

Claire approached the keyboard and began to hit a few keys. Her skin brushed against Gretchen's in their close proximity. It was a little comforting being that close to her again. She knew it was as close as she could probably get for awhile. "Your dad said you live in Austin. You ever hear about the cheerleader who got her head cut open in Odessa?"

"Yeah," Gretchen nodded after a moment. "It was all over the news."

"She was my best friend," Claire admitted as she hit search on the Google search engine. Her name and Jackie's pulled up an article from two years ago. Claire clicked on it.

"My name is Claire Bennet. Two years ago I saved a man from a burning train. I didn't plan on it. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time and couldn't walk away. Anyway, I was embarrassed for being crazy enough to run into the train in the first place and Jackie could tell maybe so she took credit. A few weeks later she was murdered. The guy who did it attacked me too. He didn't kill me but he stalked me for awhile. He killed my parents," Claire's voice broke at the last sentence. It was technically true. He killed Nathan and Meredith. They were biological parents. It still hurt.

Gretchen reached up a hand hesitantly. Not sure if Claire wanted to be touched. Claire did not move so Gretchen reached a her hand a little further and pressed it against Claire's back. After a few seconds she began to rub soothing (what she hoped was soothing) circles on Claire's back. Claire remained silent but did not move so Gretchen turned her attention to the article.

Moments passed and Gretchen scrolled down, tears in her eyes as she continued to read. Claire would not have felt so emotional if she was simply reading the article Gretchen was. It was very unemotional in its account but Claire knew what Gretchen was feeling. It was different when you knew there was a person behind the story.

Gretchen reached the end of the article and turned to Claire teary eyed. She whispered, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Claire said, pulling the girl into a loose hug. It felt oddly right comforting her though it was her story.

Gretchen shook her head no. "No, no, I made a joke once. When it first happened I made a joke about cheerleaders. I am so sorry Claire."

Claire pulled away and tilted her head so she was looking into Gretchen's eyes. "It's okay. I just have nowhere to go and that scary guy is still out there somewhere. Rene was a friend of the family. He's been protecting me, but if anyone knew where I was we would be in so much danger. You know from that picture with the article my name really is Claire Bennet. We're just trying to stay under the radar for our own safety, so please just don't give your dad the background report. I understand if you want to. I've been pretty awful to you. I'm a bit of bitch and I have been told many times even recently that I'm just the kind person who only cares about what I want, but this is a life or death situation so, if you could just-"

"Say no more," Gretchen said as she erased her browser history and opened a word document.

"Really?" Claire asked, surprised at Gretchen's frantic movements.

"Yeah," Gretchen nodded as she began typing away using the original background report as a template. "I can write a new report singing your praises and confirming your story. Never was there a better maid than Claire Petrelli. Stuff like that."

"You can really do that stuff?" Claire asked.

"This stuff is a piece of cake for me. Kind of my area of smarts. No worries," Gretchen shrugged slightly, not slowing down in her typing.

"And you can work in stuff about the Haitian's background in Haiti?" Claire asked looking at the screen.

Gretchen's eyes broke from the screen to glance at Claire but to Claire's muted amusement she did not slow down in her typing at all. "He's Haitian?"

"Nevermind," Claire brushed the remaining tears from Gretchen's cheeks. Gretchen blinked at the intimate touch she was obviously unused to and turned her attention back to the screen.

"Just go ahead and get back to work. Everyone's still asleep. They only got in a few hours ago. They won't know you even missed a step," Gretchen assured with a grin.

"Thank you," Claire said sincerely. Gretchen nodded in response and Claire headed to the door secure in the knowledge that she did not reveal the dangerous truth but never lied to Gretchen either. The conversation was over but Claire could not leave just yet.

Claire marched back ready to apologize when Gretchen beat her to the punch. "I'm sorry."

"I told you, you don't have to say that. You didn't even know Jackie," Claire said.

Gretchen shook her head and finally pulled away from the keyboard for a moment. "No, I mean, for last night. I went off on you and I mean, we barely know each other. I shouldn't have gotten that upset. I guess I could see where you were coming from."

"Are you kidding? I was unnecessarily and completely unreasonably awful to you and you've been nothing but kind to me, even now. I am so completely sorry for last night Gretchen," Claire insisted.

"It's okay," Gretchen said simply.

Claire shook her head in disbelief. "How can you say that?"

"Claire, according to that article you're like what? Seventeen? Your life has been topsy turvy over the last few months, make that years. You're still dealing and it's okay to lose it every now and then. My life's totally sheltered and I act crazy like six times a week," Gretchen joked.

On some level Gretchen was accurate. Her Gretchen had been trying to convince her of the same thing. She wanted her to stop blaming herself for all that happened. And Claire had been dealing with a lot especially the last few days and it was making her act out. It did not make her behavior okay however.

"My past is no excuse for the way I acted towards you. You haven't known me for a long time but I know you better than that. I shouldn't have made those accusations towards you or been so cruel. You didn't deserve it," Claire said.

Gretchen stood and stepped towards her. "We both said things last night that we regret. Let's just take that one off the record books. Starting right now, you and me, fresh start."

Gretchen extended a hand and Claire shook it as she confirmed, "fresh start."

Claire pulled her hand away slowly, another idea forming in her mind. "As part of our fresh start, maybe we should forget about that kiss we had and try to be friends for now. I can't really handle anymore complications. And my past, it really has to stay a secret from everyone, even your family. I just can't risk anyone else getting involved."

'If only I could get Elle to agree to that," Claire thought.

"Sounds good. I could use another one of those things called friends," Gretchen joked, before jutting a thumb in the direction of her computer. "I should get back to that but I'm glad we're okay again."

"Me too," Claire said as Gretchen headed back to her computer to work on the background report.

"Someone is getting ice cream for breakfast," Claire called as she backed out of the room. Gretchen smirked in the glow of the computer screen already settling back to work.

Claire closed the door and her body began to relax at the crisis averted. In exhaustion she began to slide down against the door until she was resting against it as she sat on the ground, another memory taking her over.

"_What's for dinner?" Claire called as she closed the door of the apartment behind her._

"_Ice cream," Gretchen said as she scooped Neopolitan out of a gallon tub._

_Claire walked around the kitchen counter, eyeing the bowls suspiciously. "That doesn't sound particularly healthy."_

"_Um, hello. One of those ice cream flavors is strawberry. This is healthy for any meal of the day," Gretchen said as she covered the ice cream in a large pile of whipped cream until the strawberry was no longer remotely visible._

_Claire hopped up and sat atop the counter as she grabbed the bowl Gretchen offered her. "Okay, if you say so."_

_Gretchen sprayed a dollop of whipped cream on her finger and ran it across a patch of Claire's neck before leaning over to lick it off. Claire sighed in delight as she reached for the chocolate syrup._

"_So, how was your day?" Gretchen asked with her lips against Claire's neck._

"_Saw Monica Dawson at the hospital today. Spent an hour or two with her and Micah," Claire said lazily as she leaned into Gretchen's touch._

"_Did you finally win her over with your sexuality like Jenna on 30 Rock? Because if so," Gretchen took a moment to dramatically pull away, "awkward."_

_Claire giggled as she pulled Gretchen to her once more. "No, after giving Micah his transplant and spending every day in the hospital with him for his checkups, staying at his bedside for over a month, Monica has finally suggested a fresh start."_

"_Well, that's great. Fresh start means new friendship with someone. Why aren't we celebrating?" Gretchen asked._

"_First of all, if we're celebrating every friendship we happen to get out of nothing more than persistence we are sad, sad people. Second of all, maybe Monica was right about me all along. Maybe I'm someone who only cares about myself and what I want. Maybe I shouldn't be dragging her or anyone else down with me," Claire said sadly._

"_Listen, I can't tell you what a good person you are because that's up to you to decide, but I want to ask you something. Are you still going to be at Micah's bedside every day? Are you still going to be donating blood and organs everyday? Are you still going to be doing charity work and spending time with your loved ones everyday?" Gretchen asked._

_Claire rolled her eyes jokingly at the questions, causing Gretchen to laugh a little. _

"_Well?" Gretchen prodded giving Claire's waist a gentle squeeze._

"_Yes, yes, all day, everyday. This is my life now," Claire confirmed._

"_Well, then to me you are not the person Monica originally thought you were and I think you're gonna be great friends," Gretchen said._

_Claire smiled. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm not COMPLETELY awful."_

"_That's all I wanted to point out, you know. Maybe, just maybe," Gretchen teased. Claire shoved her lightly and gave her a peck on the lips. She dipped her spoon in the rapidly melting ice cream and held it out for Gretchen to taste. Gretchen obliged and Claire brushed the sweet dessert off her girlfriend's lips with the pad of her thumb._

_Claire eyed her fondly. "What would I do without you?"_

"_You'll never have to find out," Gretchen smiled._


	8. Chapter 8

Title: "The Road Not Taken"

Rating: PG-13 probably.

Pairings: Claire/Elle, Claire/Gretchen

Summary: When Claire goes back in time to save Elle, her relationship with Gretchen is threatened.

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show "Heroes."

Note: Takes place after "Brave New World." The past takes place after "The Butterfly Effect." Thank you Lied and She-Hulk from the BAM Board for all your help.

Chapter 8

Claire was hunched over sleepily as she stared blankly at the kitchen counter. She had hit a metaphorical brick wall (in her case it was important to specify). Her problem: she did not know how to complete a single cooking task without help.

She also did not know how to handle Elle.

Or Gretchen.

Or herself.

She had spent the last few days almost constantly surrounded by two people she deeply cared about, three people if you counted Rene. Yet she was completely miserable and always at war with herself and others.

Claire knew she could whine and be difficult but she legitimately tried to do the right thing most of the time. She never tried to hurt any innocent person despite people accusing her of as much. She never tried to ruin lives.

When she was selfish, lives were ended and people were devastated. When she tried to be selfless, lives were ended and people were devastated. Each incident was another trial that she barely survived. She was always just getting by and given the nature of her ability she stood to be just getting by for literally eternity.

She jumped off the ferris wheel so everyone would be out in the open. People with abilities would not be exposed by a villain like Samuel and put into more concentration camps and have more experiments done on them. She acted first. She was the brave one who stepped forward, hoping after she made a good impression things would die down after a few months. She hoped to attain some kind of normal.

Instead she somehow became a permanent spokesman with the weight of the whole evolved world on her shoulders. Handling situations and fighting for integrated schooling, the military, a stop to hate crime and changing the entire world.

And she could not even make a small family a fucking breakfast.

No matter what choices she made, right or wrong there was always a huge push, holding her back from everything and anything she could possibly want. A normal life, love, family, sex. Nothing.

She had loved ones and family and friends and something of a love life. She was healthy and did not have to worry about an afterlife. People counted on her. She had money, shelter, a job. She was not in prison. She was a lucky girl.

Meanwhile, Sylar committed over a dozen different types of crimes including being an unstoppable serial killer. He assaulted her, made passes at her and made her lose the ability to feel physical pain ever again. And what did he have? Besides loved ones, friends and a love life. He was healthy and did not have to worry about an afterlife. People counted on him. He had money, shelter, a job. He was not in prison. He had sex with Elle. He would be bugging Claire for eternity.

And he could probably make breakfast too like an actual normal adult. He could probably make waffles.

Claire wanted to save Elle and Gretchen for that matter. She wanted to save the whole world but some part of her still desperately wanted to save herself. Claire knew how stupid that sounded even when she admitted it to herself in her own head. She was the safest girl in the entire world and yet people were always going far out of their own way to save her. Many people died saving her and her parent's marriage dissolved over it. She could not imagine what life was like for Lyle with people always coming and going in various attempts to save her.

People would never stop treating her like a child or their hero or their scapegoat. If she ever wanted something she would just have to take it for herself. That was something she was willing to do now. That was the only thing left for her to do and she may as well start today.

Unfortunately none of her self-indulgent pondering gave her a single answer to what she came into the kitchen for over a half hour ago. She still did not know how to make breakfast. She smothered a scream in the palms of her hands just as Gretchen excitedly bounced into the kitchen with a fistful of papers in her hand.

"Guess what I just completed?" Gretchen bubbly asked sounding so pleased with herself that Claire melted a little and unconsciously leaned forward hoping some of the warmth from the other girl's personality would rub off on her.

Claire shrugged loosely. "I don't know."

"The background report," Gretchen said, shaking her head at Claire's immediate forgetfulness.

Claire smirked at Gretchen's overexcited behavior but humored her with an "oh, that."

"Not only are Rene and Claire Petrelli model citizens- with a couple of moving violations just for authenticity- but you also saved a bald eagle once," Gretchen punctuated her last statement by lightly tapping Claire on the shoulder with her report.

"Did I really?" Claire asked dryly as she raised her eyebrows.

"You were kind of awesome," Gretchen added.

Claire rested her head on the palm of her hand. "Well, then it's going to be pretty embarrassing when it turns out I could save a bald eagle but I don't know the basics of making breakfast."

"Seriously?"

At Claire's nod Gretchen offered, "I could help you make french toast."

Claire was technically the help and not supposed to raise suspicion or interact with Gretchen too much thereby disrupting the space time continuum but on the other hand... "okay."

A toothy grin spread across Gretchen's face as she nodded in agreement. "Okay."

Gretchen gingerly put her freshly forged background papers on the counter and turned on a burner on the stove.

Claire leaned over the newly lit fire. "Mmm, right. I remembered that part."

Gretchen hid her smile at Claire's sleepy ignorance by opening the refrigerator door and ducking her head inside as she began searching for ingredients.

"Thanks again for the report you did. Where's the original?" Claire asked as she walked around the counter to examine the contents of Gretchen's work.

"Shredded. Four times," Gretchen pulled her head out of the refrigerator long enough to add, "if you ever need confetti just come to my room."

"Well, I will certainly keep that in mind," Claire insisted, already starting to chuckle. "It's all I'm gonna do all day. I'll just keep thinking about going to your room- for confetti."

An easy laughter and silence followed as Claire tossed a glance at Gretchen, already knowing where the girl's naturally curious mind was headed.

"You can ask me, you know," Claire said as she skimmed the report. It turned out according to Gretchen, Claire was also an activist for whales and marriage equality. She could buy that. She knew Gretchen liked those things too.

"Ask you what?" Gretchen asked with her faux innocent voice. Claire knew her too well.

"You created my fake life. You deserve to know about my real one. Ask me anything. I'll tell you the truth," Claire said, somewhat echoing a conversation she had with Gretchen sometime before.

Gretchen spun around with eggs in one arm and milk in the other. "Did you ever finish school?"

Claire's brows furrowed. Maybe she did not know Gretchen that well. She did not see that question coming. "What?"

"You were like homecoming queen, captain of the cheerleading team, right in the middle of high school when everything happened. Did you ever finish or are you still a drop out? Because I have tutors. You could use my tutors," Gretchen said, clumsily placing the eggs and milk on the counter because her eyes never left Claire's. Claire smiled at the sweet idea behind the words.

"I got my GED," Claire answered honestly.

"Oh," was all Gretchen said as she shut the refrigerator door and abruptly turned in search of more ingredients.

"That's it?" Claire asked, stepping closer to Gretchen as to not let her escape the conversation. "No questions about Jackie's murder or the killer or my crazy messed up life?"

Gretchen closed the cabinet she was looking into and stared at it not daring to meet Claire's eyes. "Yeah, I have all those burning questions in my head and I really really want to know but I have a kind of huge tendency to come on too strong and I didn't want to freak you out."

"You could never freak me out," Claire said.

Gretchen turned around with a smile, "Well, that's good to hear becau– Claire, OH MY GOD!"

Gretchen's eyes widened and she sputtered for a few seconds before quickly running out of the room. "I'll get the first aid kit."

Claire immediately searched herself to see what the cause of alarm was and discovered that when she had stepped closer to Gretchen she had rested her hand on the lit stove. She ran to the sink and let the water wash over her hand. She watched her burns disappear into healthy skin as she cursed her innate ability to inadvertently set her hands aflame. 'And not in the fun way,' Claire thought grumpily.

Gretchen rushed back into the room with a first aid kit and large bandages in hand. "Here, I got stuff. This is stuff that I got."

Gretchen was close to hyperventilating as she spoke so Claire rushed to her holding up her perfectly healthy hands as evidence (taking a moment to turn off the stove as she did so).

"Look, I'm fine. It turned out I only had my hand on the burner for a second, which is why I couldn't feel it, but I'm fine now. Perfectly fine," Claire assured as convincingly as she could. Unfortunately for her she was a terrible liar.

Gretchen shook her head. "No, no. I saw your hand. You were there for like... several seconds at least and it looked all hot and crackly. How are you fine?"

"Um, well, it wasn't that long and I ran water over it," Claire said. At Gretchen's skeptical look she continued, "Cold water. And it stings. Ohhh. Hurts."

Claire nearly rolled her eyes at her own bad acting but held to it. In Gretchen's flustered state she was not paying attention to much other than Claire's well being anyway.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Gretchen asked.

Claire was about to answer, but the ability to form words slipped away as Gretchen carefully and ever so lightly took her hand, the other girls fingers brushing feather lightly over her skin, too worried to hurt her even a little bit.

Claire swallowed as she watched Gretchen lean down to her hand, her lips coming frustratingly close to her skin. A soft warm breath tickled over her palm that made her heart jump a beat, before a light cold blow of air out of Gretchen's mouth, meant to sooth her injury, made her knees go weak.

Gretchen slowly rubbed her fingers over the once injured skin, the languid pressure causing Claire's skin to come alive, tickled and tingling until it was all Claire could do not to shiver.

Gretchen repeated the action a few times with more deliberate and desperate strokes as if she was testing Claire's limits, unaware that in many ways she was. Memories of skin against skin caressed their way through Claire's mind, bringing back a time when Gretchen's excessively attentive nature meant that almost every square inch of Claire was lavished with feeling until it was overloaded with almost every sense, practically tasting the flutter of lips and skin that overtook her.

Claire breathed out slowly and focused on the other girl currently taking care of her. The one with no ulterior motives besides needing to make sure that Claire was okay. The soft caresses did little to calm Claire's racing pulse, especially when Gretchen, satisfied with the results she got, punctuated the action with a soft kiss on her palm.

She looked immediately embarrassed with the action, probably something her mother used to do for her when she was younger. Claire was not thrown off by the gesture as she knew Gretchen's intentions were pure. Meanwhile Claire's own thoughts were anything but pure at the moment.

Attempting to change the subject, Gretchen scrutinized Claire's hand once again insisting, "it just doesn't make any sense that you're not hurt."

Gretchen's curious mind was at work again but Claire could not share even more privileged information with Gretchen than she already had. It was way more than she should have already. With that in mind and Claire's blood flow heading away from her brain and into another region Claire came up with a plan and instantly acted on it.

Claire threw her arms around Gretchen's neck and placed a kiss upon her lips. Gretchen hesitated a bit but gave in. Claire was giving in too. Elle was not the only one who saw something she wanted and went for it. Claire was no longer the victim or the hero. She was now a person who got what she wanted- until Gretchen pulled away.

"Wait," Gretchen said with her eyes still dazedly closed. "You said you wanted to be friends now. You wanted to forget the kiss we had before."

"What can I say? I'm fickle." With her lips still dancing tantalizing against Gretchen's, Claire spoke, "how long do you think your parents will be asleep?"

Gripping Claire's hips roughly with both hands before massaging the skin through Claire's uniform, Gretchen practically squeaked, "not nearly long enough."

Gretchen swung Claire around so she was sandwiched between the refrigerator and Gretchen's taller frame. Gretchen ducked her head down and Claire eagerly pounced on her, pressing their lips together roughly, teeth clashing as their lips slid together sloppily but perfectly, trying desperately to connect in any and every way they could. Claire took Gretchen's bottom lip between hers before lightly biting it. It was like a drug, being with Gretchen like this. She wanted to consume her. She wanted to be consumed.

Claire sucked Gretchen's tongue into her mouth, massaging and somewhat dueling. Claire did not know if she was fighting for dominance over Gretchen or to just let herself surrender to her but at this point she did not care.

Gretchen broke away abruptly to take a deep breath and instantly reattached her body to Claire, kissing along her face and neck, tugging on Claire's uniform as she desperately searched for more access to every single part of Claire but was increasingly unsuccessful. Claire was all too familiar with this problem, but also the solution.

Claire put both of her hands on either side of Gretchen's face and lifted it from its pursuit of her skin. Gretchen's eyes were stunned and dark. They were piercing through Claire and Claire was sure she could see through her.

Swallowing in her dry throat Claire made a valiant attempt to speak. "We have a height issue. We need to get somewhere with more access." Before Gretchen could even attempt to process what that meant, Claire finished the idea for her. "Counter. Now."

"Oh," an elated grin slid onto Gretchen's face before she captured Claire in a quick but heated kiss. "Gorgeous and smart. Thank God."

Claire had a feeling Gretchen was saying that more to herself than to her but she stopped caring when Gretchen (with a surprising amount of strength) lifted Claire up by the butt and dropped her onto the counter, positioning herself in between her legs.

With a small crisis of conscience at how this started and how selfish this need was, a panting Claire asked, "Hey, are you okay with how this is going? How fast?"

"I'm okay. I'm very okay," Gretchen said, getting all the words out in almost less than a second. "Are you okay?"

Claire nodded, pulling Gretchen closer to her by her shirt collar. "I'm the one who asked remember?"

Gretchen pulled away then, taking a few steps away as she did so until she was pressed again the opposite kitchen counter. She put both of her hands in front of her face and groaned into them as she shook her head. "I can't believe I'm doing this. No, we're not going forward."

"Why? Why? Why?" Claire nearly cried. She attempted to get off the counter and reach out to her to-be-paramour but Gretchen held up a hand instructing her to stay in place.

"No, if you brought this up... then you must have some.. something... You know... that word," Gretchen stumbled over her words as her eyes became trained on Claire's breasts. She shook her head again before straightening up. "Concerns. I don't want to force you to do anything you don't want to do. If you don't want this, you don't. You won't lose your job over this. I don't want you to be worried. You don't have to do this."

Claire smiled hungrily. She finally got a taste of getting something she wanted and had no plans of stopping anytime soon. "That's sweet, but all I really want right now? You, on top of me."

"Okay," Gretchen said and in an instant leapt onto the counter until her entire body was on top of Claire's. "As you wish."

Claire smiled at the goofiness before bringing Gretchen's lips down to meet hers. After a few minutes, Gretchen pulled away again causing Claire to nearly smack her own head against the counter in frustration.

"What now?" Claire asked, almost exasperated until she saw an adorable confused look take over Gretchen's face making her look something like a cavewoman as she looked down at her.

"Your maid's uniform doesn't really fit you," Gretchen said, causing Claire to suck in a breath, panicked at another hole in her story. After a moment Gretchen merely shrugged as her mind was on other things. Grabbing the uniform she suddenly pulled it down below Claire's breasts.

"Oh," Claire giggled happily as Gretchen placed a trail of kisses down her neck and in between her breasts. As she began to focus her attention (and mouth) on Claire's left nipple, Claire's fingers curled around the counter as she moaned, "Oh Gretch."

Claire's pulse continued to race faster and faster until it stopped completely when Bernie Berg's footsteps and voice and rang out just outside the kitchen door. "Is breakfast ready?"


	9. Chapter 9

Title: "The Road Not Taken"

Rating: PG-13 probably.

Pairings: Claire/Elle, Claire/Gretchen

Summary: When Claire goes back in time to save Elle, her relationship with Gretchen is threatened.

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show "Heroes."

Note: Takes place after "Brave New World." The past takes place after "The Butterfly Effect." Thank you Lied and She-Hulk from the BAM Board for all your help.

Chapter 9

"Oh my God," Gretchen harshly whispered at the sound of her father's voice. With a terrified grimace Gretchen threw her body onto the black and white tiled floor and pulled Claire down on top of her. It was an odd circumstance for Claire. Normally she was taking the brunt of injuries but Gretchen did not know that and went out of her way to protect her. It was cute. Or it would have been had it not been for their situation.

"Hello?" Bernie called as he threw open the kitchen door and began to step in, his sandals clacking against the tiles.

Pushing her body off of Gretchen's, Claire yanked her uniform up as quickly as she could, fumbling with her small fingers to make sure all her buttons were back in place. She silently mouthed to Gretchen, "Am I okay?"

Gretchen frantically and quietly nodded, wincing and reaching for the back of her head. She might have had a bruise or concussion and Claire felt an instant wave a guilt for instigating the make out session that lead to the injury. Claire would see to making this up to Gretchen just as soon as she got rid of Bernie's prying eyes.

With those impure thoughts firmly lodged in her mind, she dropped a quiet peck on the crown of Gretchen's head before standing up quickly and popping up suddenly from behind the counter.

"Hi," Claire said, hoping she was not too flushed.

"Hi?" Bernie replied, stepping forward a little more. Claire's eyes nearly bulged out of her head with each step he took closer to discovering his daughter behind the counter. "Everything all right? I mean, you were on the floor."

"Yeah. It's just, you know, french toast," Claire said with a decisive nod and a flourish of her hand. She prayed he knew nothing of french toast.

Bernie's balding forehead wrinkled with confusion before he seemed to realize something and pointed to something just behind Claire's head. "Oh, were you looking for the frying pan? It's in the cupboard right behind you."

Claire nodded thankful for the easy acceptance of her actions. She carefully but casually stepped around Gretchen's form to retrieve a pan from the cupboard. She lifted the heavy thing down with as much grace as she could. She swore she used to be good at helping her mother cook. Now she was better with her father's firearm.

"Thanks, well, I will just cook up some breakfast and it'll be ready in just a little while," Claire said with her most professional smile.

Bernie nodded with a smile of his own. "That's actually not what I really came in here for though. I was hoping you and I could have a one on one talk later on the lanai this afternoon."

"Oh, yes, of course sir." Claire smiled tightly.

"Very good. I'll be reading my paper for now," Bernie said before quickly snatching the background report off the counter. Claire had left it open. She hoped it was not too suspicious. "Please let me know when breakfast is ready."

He was gone before Claire could offer a response and part of her was glad for it as she got more nervous every second she talked and she could swear he was getting colder and colder in his demeanor as time stretched on in the short conversation.

Chancing a glance at Gretchen, Claire cautiously whispered "what do you think the meeting is about?" The wide eyed Gretchen just shrugged.

Claire reached out a hand to help Gretchen off the floor. Once Gretchen straightened up, Claire brushed the stray hairs out of her eyes as Gretchen did the same for her, albeit distractedly aiming her eyes toward the door to make sure her father did not return.

Their movements stalled for a second as they finally looked in each other's eyes. Claire brought both of her hands up to cup Gretchen's face. She wanted to do something impulsive like kiss her and damn the consequences but Gretchen looked so shaken and doe eyed that Claire could not help but want to be tender. This was probably why she was not the impulsive and take what she wants type.

Sucking it up, Claire stroked the pad of her thumb across full lips before depositing a kiss there. "You okay?"

Gretchen nodded though she cringed and rubbed her head again as she did so. "Yeah, I mean, you know it's not the first time my dad has walked in on me."

Claire raised an eyebrow as a jealous frown crossed her face. "Really?"

Gretchen's eyes widened to a comical size. "Not like that. I mean it's not like I'm a nun or anything but I'm not like a hooker either or any variations like a hooker nun or a ...nun hooker."

Claire's brow scrunched in confusion. "This conversation has certainly taken a turn."

"I just... it's like... have you ever broken into a morgue before?" Gretchen asked nonchalantly as if she asked if Claire had ever traveled before.

Claire dropped her hands from around Gretchen's face. "No."

"Well, see that I couldn't explain that so I didn't want to bring it up," Gretchen said sadly.

"Try," Claire prodded.

"It's a rich kid thing," Gretchen said, avoiding Claire's eyes by playing with a button on Claire's uniform instead. "Just doing something to take the pressure off. Do anything you can just to see if you could get away with it."

Claire face scrunched up even more. "By doing what to a dead body?"

"Nothing," Gretchen laughed. Claire still looked at her with narrow eyed disbelief. "I dated a goth guy who was into looking at dead bodies. I was just following along with what I thought he wanted. I wanted him to like me. I get a little overeager when I like someone or want them to like me."

Claire looked down at her fingers, suddenly concerned with how her nails looked and unable to face Gretchen. "So, have you done this before? Dated the maid?"

"No," Gretchen whispered, stooping down a little so Claire could see her smiling face. "And are we dating because you know, I _could_ be cool with that."

"Well, that depends," Claire said as she pressed a kiss to Gretchen's lips. "Can you make breakfast?"

Gretchen pulled away with a start as she looked frantically around the kitchen as if she had seen it for the first time. "Oh that."

"Yeah, that," Claire smiled as the pearl white kitchen phone started to ring. "And I'll get that."

Gretchen started up the crackling stove. "So, enough for me, Dad, Delilah and Joanna. Plus, you and Rene?"

"Yeah, we'll eat in the kitchen," Claire said, casting one more look at Gretchen who was already wrapped up in the task of cooking up the bread like a pro, (not the hooker kind. They had already settled that).

Fighting the tender feelings that struck her heart, Claire desperately tried to keep being the do- what- she- wants kind of girl. In an effort to distract herself she quickly answered the phone.

Adopting a professional tone Claire spoke, "This is the Berg residence. May I take a message?"

"It's me," Elle whispered on the other end of the line.

"Why are you whispering?" Claire whispered back.

"I don't know why are you whispering?" Elle responded.

Claire frowned. "I don't know. How did you get this number?"

"Rene gave it to me. Thanks for not giving me the number or your address by the way. You're a totally awesome bodyguard. Seriously. A real company girl," Elle said. Somehow Claire pictured a smile lingering on Elle's face at the insult.

Claire tried to contain a detailed comeback as Gretchen was still in the room. "Well, what's up? Why are you calling? Did something happen? Did you see a member of the Lazarus group?"

"I don't know. What's a member of the Lazarus group look like?" Elle asked.

Claire shrugged though Elle could not see it. "I don't really know either."

Claire heard Elle scoff and curse and mutter 'I'm so dead,' before finally saying, "Okay, seriously how did you get assigned to this gig? As a bodyguard or the person here to kill me?"

Claire bit her lip to keep words from spilling out and blowing her cover completely. "Are you in trouble?"

"Are you still mad at me?" Elle shot back.

"No," Claire quietly admitted, before turning a look towards Gretchen. Gretchen was watching her ever so carefully as the conversation seemed to peak her interest. Once she noticed Claire noticed her spying, she quickly turned her attention back to the pan, jerking it once again across the flame.

"Really?" Elle asked with a hopeful tone in her voice that Claire could not help but smile at. She was such a sap.

"I'm not mad at you," Claire admitted again.

"Oh good, of course," Elle said, suddenly confident as if the idea of Claire ever being mad at her was unheard of. "What calmed you down? You looked all upset yesterday. All green, dry heaving, actually heaving."

Claire closed her eyes tightly. "Please, don't remind me. I haven't eaten since."

"I'm just saying you threw up and it was kind of funny in a way," Elle said.

"Excuse me?" Claire nearly yelled though she knew Elle was just pushing her buttons. Claire tossed her most innocent and doe eyed look to Gretchen after her outburst and all Gretchen offered was an amused smile and curious eyes as she moved battered bread around the skillet.

Elle offered a devilish laugh over the phone. "Well, I mean, you've always been kind of perfect. It's nice to see there's a human in there just as screwed up and gross as the rest of us. I didn't even know you could get sick like that."

"Well, there's sick as in illness and sick as in disgusted," Claire whispered before she could stop herself.

Elle was silent for a few seconds causing Claire to roll her eyes at her own tactlessness. Nothing new on her part. Claire finally continued. "I'm not disgusted with you. It's being reminded of Sylar at his worst. I took it out on you and everyone I saw last night. Even myself."

"I know you don't want to hear it but he actually used to be a sort of okay guy. He had mom issues and was totally weird and nerdy but nice guy. Liked pie," Elle said.

Claire was touched that Elle seemed to remember him fondly for a moment despite all he did to her, but now was not the time to confess secrets. "I don't really know what to say to that but I'll take your word for it."

"So, we're good?" Elle asked.

Claire nodded with a smile. "We're good."

"Okay," Elle said with a light note in her voice, obviously happy to still be in Claire's good graces. As well she should be in Claire's opinion. Claire kept her alive after all. Well, at least at this point she did.

"So, are there any problems? Anything wrong?" Claire asked.

"I have the feeling someone is watching me," Elle said almost offhandedly.

"Watching you?" Claire inquired, taking on a suspicious tone.

"Can you blame whoever they are? I'm really hot," Elle joked.

Claire smirked. "So, you are having no concrete problems right now?"

"I noticed you didn't disagree with me," Elle said in a kittenish voice.

Claire smothered the urge to laugh at the lighthearted teasing, instead ending the call before she could get into any more trouble. Loud enough for Gretchen to hear, she announced, "I'm sorry, Miss. You have the wrong number. Please consult your directory."

With that she hung up and spun around to find Gretchen scooping servings of french toast onto a plate made of bits of sea glass. The plate was not completely symmetrical, and the colors were not perfect, a mixture of brown and green and an ugly orange. It was probably something homemade by Gretchen in her youth. It was nice to see a little piece of her in a part of the house outside the sanctuary that was her room.

Still, it was hard to focus on that as Gretchen stared at her almost expectantly as she was endlessly curious and even now wanted to see every part of Claire. She gnawed her bottom lip in an attempt not to ask questions, showing great restraint on her part. "Who was that? You sounded like you knew them."

Or less than admirable restraint.

Claire opened her mouth but no sound came out. She was saved from answering when Bernie bellowed from the other room.

"Miss Petrelli, could you please come in here for a moment?"

Claire's face contorted until her mouth was hilariously and almost impossibly twisted into the shape of a question mark. Claire darted her eyes in between Gretchen and the living room, trying to telepathically ask Gretchen what her father was calling her for. Gretchen shrugged so Claire blew out a breath of air and walked toward the livingroom.

As Claire pushed through the swinging door, she stopped short. Was that an original Andy Warhol hanging on the wall? Right next to his comfy arm chair... She hoped it was not real. Someone with such awful taste should not have sought after art.

Putting a polite smile on her face she walked to the side of the armchair to face Bernie. "Bernie, is there anything I could do for you?"

He folded the newspaper and set it on the arm of his chair and placed his reading glasses on top of it. Suddenly, he seemed less eccentric in a plain brown button down shirt and generic grey sweat pants. She wondered if he would change before his wife and stepdaughter woke up. She wondered if everyone was wearing a disguise and not just her.

"I was just wondering who was on the phone. I heard it ring but you never asked for me," Bernie said.

"Oh." Claire nearly sighed in relief. "It was a wrong number."

Bernie nodded before standing up and giving her an appreciative up and down look that made her skin crawl. "Miss Petrelli, let's just have that talk right now."

Claire offered a tight smile. "Sure."

She followed him towards the balcony patio, trailing him a few steps from behind. She searched around but Gretchen was nowhere to be seen. Claire was a cautious as she followed him. The looks he gave her... What if he made a pass at her? Would she have to just take it to avoid breaking her cover? What would that mean for Gretchen?

Maybe he wanted something else. What if he wanted to fire her? Had he taken the time to notice how incompetent she was? The house was clean and the food was getting made... by Gretchen and Rene, but he did not know that. Did he?

He opened the door to the patio and Claire made one last pleading look for Gretchen even though she knew Gretchen would not be there. He motioned for Claire to go first and she did as slowly as possible. He would not try to kill her when her back was turned would he? Were the doors soundproof? It would be completely out of nowhere but everything that happened to Claire since she had been on this mission had been completely out of nowhere. A near death experience was actually more in the norm than anything else that had happened to Claire on this trip.

She stepped far out onto the patio and whipped around quickly, keeping her eyes on Bernie as she moved farther and farther away from him nearly knocking over a table and a vase in the process.

"Did I not strike you as an intelligent man, Miss Petrelli?" Bernie asked. Claire noticed for the first time that Gretchen had her father's eyes. They were a mix of light brown with light green around the iris. His eyes were not kind like Gretchen's however. This was something that was abundantly clear when he fixed his cold stare on her.

"I'm sure you're an intelligent man, Bernie," Claire said innocently.

He advanced closer to her, an almost cruel smile on his face. "Do you like calling me Bernie, Miss Petrelli?"

"I guess," Claire said, backing away from him. Great. She rammed her last attempted rapist into a wall with his car. She could not do that to Gretchen's dad. Mostly because of moral issues and learned experience but slightly because she was trapped on a patio.

He put his hands in his pockets and laughed bobbing his head to a joke that Claire was not let in on. It made her skin crawl. "Funny thing. In business, I like people to call me Bernie. A keep your enemies closer type thing. When people take advantage of my daughter I like them to call me Mr. Berg since they obviously have no respect for me and it's about time they start."

Claire gulped. "Excuse me?"

"You're calling me Mr. Berg from here on out. Got it?" Mr. Berg said with a nod full of fake politeness. Claire had not anticipated this turn of events and was completely baffled at what to do. Seeing no other recourse she hesitantly nodded.

"Great," Mr. Berg said with a bright smile that instantly fell off his face as he menaced his way towards her. "Your background reports check out. I saw them on the counter and looked them over in my chair. No reports of anything like this before so I need to know why the hell you decided to take advantage of my little girl in particular. What's your game here?"

"I- I don't know what you're talking about," Claire said blinking and stumbling all the way.

Bernie's eyes closed almost peacefully as he began to shake his head. He opened his eyes again. "You're lying."

"I'm not," Claire said as she averted her eyes and played with her hair. Her eyes landed on a slice of beach and ocean far off from the balcony. She wondered what it would be like to be there at that moment. Would she have peace? Would there be glass in the sand to remind her of the fight she had with Elle? Would Mr. Berg still have it out for her? Was there anywhere she could run to ever escape her conscience and consequences?

Apparently not.

"So, you weren't just on the phone with a girl? Some girl you were familiar with? Fond of? And my daughter wasn't just hiding all crumpled on the floor on the kitchen?" Bernie asked.

Claire's eyes widened. Uh oh. "We-"

"Don't even start," Bernie warned. "I picked up the phone when you didn't bring the call to me immediately. I heard you talking to that girl. When only a moment ago, my daughter was on the floor and don't even deny she was there. Smarter people than you have tried the same thing with my UNDERAGED DAUGHTER."

Claire took a moment to think about her options. She could lie but she was an awful liar and Mr. Berg was already aware that she wasn't telling the truth. "I did kiss Gretchen and she was hiding on the floor but I wasn't planning anything I swear. I didn't know I was going to kiss her until literally the moment it happened. I just lo- like her. I like her a lot."

Bernie nearly growled as he shook his head. He shook his head and began to pace. Every couple of seconds he would stare Claire down with a war in his eyes. It was the first time he seemed like more than a yuppie character and like an actual human being. A father at that. The intensity in his eyes reminded Claire of her own father.

"That still doesn't explain the girl on the phone," Mr. Berg said finally. It struck Claire as odd. As if he had decided to say it at the last minute. Only traces of anger instead of the rage he seemed to put out only moments before. It was as if he was phoning his anger in.

"She's a friend of mine. I didn't expect her to call here," Claire said. It was true enough.

Mr. Berg almost smirked. "You sounded pretty chummy for a friend. Are you sure that's all there is?"

Claire gulped and she had no idea why. "Of course. She's just a friend."

Mr. Berg continued to evaluate her up and down and Claire was ready to shake. Finally, his hands dropped from his hips and down to his sides. His posture relaxed as did his face, settling into a resigned frown. If Claire did not know any better it would seem he had given up his argument. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm not trying to scare you. Well, I am, but..."

He paused, obviously debating what to say next. Claire was equally baffled at what it might be. "I'll be honest. I have a lot. I have more money than I could ever need, an acceptable amount of friends and real estate. I have good business, a beautiful wife Joanna and a stepdaughter Delilah who I love as my own. There is however, one thing outside my grasp."

Bernie sat down and seemed to crumble at that moment as if all the strength was drained out of his body and all that was left was a fragile shell ready to collapse into itself. Claire did not know how to respond to his rapidly changing moods or if she should at all instead of simply running back into the house and out the front door, consequences be damned.

He saved her the trouble of responding. "I never learned how to do the good dad thing. Not with my own daughter at least. I could see it, you know, in your eyes. That you could tell and were judging us. I'm very good at reading people. I guess you are too."

"I've learned to," Claire responded as she cursed the tremble in her voice. She began to walk closer to the door, though she had to pass him to do so. She felt less scared for some reason. She somehow sensed he was done fighting her.

"You need to understand, my parents died while I was in college. I didn't know how I would bounce back until I met my first wife. I loved my wife. I would've given her the world and with the money I had even then, I could've come close," Mr. Berg half smiled, though distant and glassy eyed. "She didn't want the world like I did. She just wanted a child. After Gretchen was born and my wife died. It was just difficult. I was so terrified of losing my daughter I couldn't let myself get close. I know that sounds awful."

It did sound awful. And familiar. Claire knew all about it from her own childhood. The company told her father not to get too close because they would take her away someday. So, he was somewhat close. Close within reason to her and her brother. Claire felt bad for Lyle not getting loved as much because Noah was afraid to show favoritism. At least Claire had Claude for the first several years of her life, playing with her and giving her teddy bears. She also had biological parents loving and mourning her without her knowledge.

Then Claude was gone and Noah had to step up his attention. There was no one left to care for her but him and Sandra and he started to care and he would bring her the bears from all over the world and despite almost a decade of Claire's life when Noah tried not to get too close there came a point when he was no longer willing to give her up.

Mr. Berg continued. "I tried so hard to be there but it was always too painful. I saw how Gretchen fought for attention. She would try so hard and when she realized she wouldn't get attention at home she would go to excessive and extreme lengths to get attention elsewhere while seeing flaws in herself. She was so convinced she was unworthy of love that she became bulimic in middle school. You could die from that you know. She just got out of rehab for the third time two weeks ago."

Bernie's eyes welled up at that and Claire sympathized more than she should because she knew Gretchen and she watched Gretchen die and it had broken her heart as well. For a father afraid to get close because he was worried she would die and leave him alone, only to find she began to suffer from a disorder he blame's himself for that could potentially end her life? It was horrible.

"She's young and beautiful and rich and people are always trying to come in and take advantage of her vulnerabilities and it is my fault, I know. But if there is one thing I can do as a father, that is protect my daughter from everyone. Including you," Mr. Berg added pointedly as he turned his eyes on Claire.

Claire knew where this was coming from and knew in most instances it was not smart to come between a parent and their child. Certainly not in her case. However, she did not know how to respond to this. This was Gretchen. Her Gretchen. Well, perhaps not yet but eventually. How was she supposed to stay away from her? And should she?

She knew Mr. Berg was waiting for some sort of assurance or choice on her part but she did not know what it would be yet.

Thankfully she was saved from answering when Rene swiftly opened the door to the patio. With a small bow he said, "Excuse me, Bernie. Claire, I need you in the pantry."

Rene abruptly turned and walked out leaving no room for discussion and Claire was grateful for it. She quickly sped off the patio until she was nearly skipping behind him. She tossed a look back to Mr. Berg to find him still rooted in the spot where she left him, lost in his own thoughts.

She shook him off and was thrilled to have the mission to refocus on. Once Claire caught up to Rene, she tried to look him in the eye but his attention was diverted somewhere into the hallway they were entering.

"Rene, what's up? Why do you need me in the pantry?" Claire said, stopping abruptly as Rene did in the middle of the hallway. Finally her gaze left him and went about fifteen feet down the hallway where Gretchen was standing, facing her and Rene.

Behind her stood, Elle with a ball of electricity poised directly at Gretchen's head.


	10. Chapter 10

Title: "The Road Not Taken"

Rating: PG-13 probably.

Pairings: Claire/Elle, Claire/Gretchen

Summary: When Claire goes back in time to save Elle, her relationship with Gretchen is threatened.

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show "Heroes."

Note: Takes place after "Brave New World." The past takes place after "The Butterfly Effect." Thank you Lied and She-Hulk from the BAM Board and desirose417 on livejournal for all your help.

Chapter 10

Claire's eyes widened as she looked at the ball of electricity hovering over Gretchen's head. Claire tried to be calm and subtle but she was sure her eyes bulging out of her head in panic was currently drawing more attention than the pale blue light of Elle's electricity dancing in the shadows.

She was totally unsure of what to do and could only remain in silent terror when Elle spoke, "Hello cheerleader."

Gretchen who had been frowning through this entire exchange, finally turned to look at the sparkling blond. Claire held her breath as the light and electricity seemed to retract into Elle's hands like claws. Elle rolled her eyes knowingly.

'Rene,' Claire thought. The idea dawned on her as she turned to look at him. His head was tilted slightly to the side and he had an intense look in his eyes. Claire could swear sometimes she could see him using his power without him having to lift his hand.

When her attention turned back to Gretchen and Elle they were regarding each other face to face. Gretchen held out her hand. "We haven't officially met yet. I'm Gretchen."

"I'm Inga," Elle supplied, shaking her hand. Within a few seconds, Gretchen pulled her hand back with a yelp.

"You shocked me," Gretchen said, massaging part of her hand.

"Whoops," Elle shrugged with a smirk. She leaned conspiratorially close to Gretchen and stage whispered, "Must be static electricity or something."

Uh oh. "Elle, may I talk to you in the bedroom for a second?" Claire asked quickly.

Elle ignored her and turned her attention back to the captive audience that was Gretchen. "She's always trying to get me into a bedroom with her. I mean she's cute and everything but it's frankly exhausting. After all, I'm not a machine."

Claire rushed towards Elle at that moment and wrapped her fingers around Elle's arm. She tossed a quick and polite smile towards Gretchen which she was sure came off as crazy looking before asking, "Gretchen, may I use your room? My friend and I need to have a quick talk."

Gretchen froze for a minute, looking cautiously between the two girls. "Uh, sure. I guess it's okay. For a minute."

Gretchen had barely begun to hesitantly smile at the idea before Claire was dragging Elle towards Gretchen's bedroom.

"See, what I mean?" Elle called out as she was dragged along. "The girl is insatiable when it comes to me. You go ahead and spread that information around."

"Shut up," Claire gritted without turning around.

She hoped with Mr. Berg and Gretchen's step family in the other wing of the house they would not hear this whole exchange. She had a feeling it was going to get loud.

As they walked away, Claire heard Gretchen's distant voice behind her. "So, that's Claire's friend? She's really pretty. No one said she was that pretty."

Rene offered no response that Claire could hear if he offered one at all. Claire's only mission was to separate Elle and Gretchen as she pushed Elle inside the bedroom ahead of her and slammed the door shut behind them. Elle bubbled over with laughter the second the door was closed. With a flourish she spun around, lifted her arms and flopped backwards onto Gretchen's bed. She crossed her arms behind her head and crossed her legs, bouncing them up and down as she was laying down.

Elle's eyes flitted around the room before she finally said, "This is the most depressing room I've ever seen and I grew up in a cell."

Claire got right to the point. "What are you doing here and what the hell was that?"

"What? You hate being around fun people?" Elle asked with a grin. Claire smacked Elle on the leg in an attempt to make her get serious. Elle merely smiled wider in response, causing Claire to blush at what could be the reason for that.

"Elle, come on. Tell the truth," Claire insisted. Elle just shrugged with a bit of an attitude this time.

"How'd you get in?" Claire asked, only slightly nicer this time.

Elle rolled her eyes. "Well, Claire, the window walls of this place were so clean and shiny I just walked right on through them as if they were never there. It was like a Windex commercial come to life."

Claire ran her hand through her hair, yanking it roughly every couple inches. In three days, she had seen a bunch of previously dead people alive and now she saw Gretchen and Elle at risk once again. She did not know how much more she could take.

"You know, you're so amazing, if you could just be honest with someone, anyone, you wouldn't be so alone," Claire said, taking a different tack. It was a cheap shot but she had to take it. She needed answers before things got completely out of control.

"Maybe I like being alone," Elle said rather unconvincingly.

Claire shook her head. "Then you're an idiot because there are many people I'm unwilling to give up or give up on and one of them is you which is why I need answers."

A smile spread across Elle's face. "Aw, Claire do you like me, like me? Have you liked me all along?"

"Elle, just please give me something here? How did you get in?" Claire asked.

Elle's face scrunched up. "You know, I really don't appreciate your tone."

Claire stomped her foot petulantly. "Elle, come ON."

"Geez Claire, chillax. You hear that? Chillax? I heard a teenager say that once. How's that for blending in while we're all witness protection, undercover?" Elle smiled proudly, but when Claire just tapped her foot impatiently, Elle chuckled and continued. "I called back after I hung up with you and told Rene I was around the corner. He let me in."

Claire let out a sigh of relief. 'Finally, I'm getting some answers here.'

"Okay, okay. I can't believe he left you with Gretchen though," Claire said, pensive for a moment.

"Why? She seems able to walk, talk and chew gum at the same time. It's not like I'm gonna kill her or something," Elle said.

"You just had a ball of electricity lit up behind her HEAD," Claire growled.

Elle frowned at Claire as if she had just said something completely crazy (to someone who did not know what was going on it would seem completely crazy but not to Elle). "I can't believe you're still so stuck on that. Aren't I the mission here? Shouldn't we be focusing on me?"  
"Fine," Claire agreed with a tense smile. "What are you doing here?"

Elle spoke slowly. "We covered this. Rene let me in."

Claire blinked, struggling to keep in her bubbling annoyance. "Why did you come here in the first place?"

"I don't need to tell you that," Elle said with a wave of her hand.

Claire, a rather impulsive instead of thinking girl, crawled on top of the bed and straddled Elle, holding her shoulders down in an attempt to get her to focus. Elle looked confused for a moment, looking between Claire and the door, keeping her focus somewhere near Claire's cleavage most times as if she was unsure whether to be happy with this turn of events or if Rene was going to burst through the door at any moment.

It was a sad moment for Claire that Elle still could not trust her or Rene completely after everything they had been through. 'At least she'll fit in with the 2010 specials,' Claire thought ruefully. She was not the most trusted person in her current life. She was either a blabbermouth who people felt could no longer be trusted with a secret or more importantly their secret or she was considered a freak who should not be trusted just on the basis of being different. In that regard, it was touching that at least Elle distrusted her purely on the basis of her personality.

But Claire knew that Rene would never be bursting through the door and she needed answers sooner rather than later. "Elle, are you in trouble? Are you hurt?"

"No," Elle insisted, shifting under Claire's hips, creating a sensation that was both pleasant and torturous for Claire.

"Then what?" Claire said through gritted teeth before slamming her fist next to Elle's head on the mattress with a huff, nearly losing her balance in the process. Elle chuckled at Claire's attempt to be bad cop. "I'm serious. What?"

"What's the big deal?" Elle asked.

"The big deal is you nearly just electrocuted someone over what could be nothing and if that's the case maybe I'll just let Rene come in here and interrogate you," Claire bluffed.

"You're bluffing," Elle shot back instantly.

"I give up," Claire said, clumsily climbing off Elle and heading towards the door.

Elle pushed herself up into a sitting position. "It's not like I would've killed her or anything. Her hair is already sort of frizzy. She wouldn't have known anything happened at all."  
Claire spun around so she was facing Elle again. "Really? You think her electrocution would have escaped her?"

Elle nodded. "Most people find electrocution very disorienting. I mean, you know, I've heard that once they came to. It's fun for me. Always was. As far as I could remember."

Claire was oblivious to the increasingly distant tone in Elle's voice as she shook her head in anger. "So, you would have hospitalized some innocent girl, upset a family, got Rene and I in trouble so you could have some fun?"

Elle waved her index finger in the air. "First of all, you have no idea if that girl is innocent. People are not what they seem, Cheerleader. You should know that better than anybody."

Claire crossed her arms angrily. "Trashing the girl I have feelings for? That's your defense?"

Elle sat even more upright at this news. "That's the girl you like? Her? She looks nothing like me."

Claire was getting more confused by the moment. "What does that have to do with anything? Are you just trying to ruin everything Rene and I have going to protect you and ourselves? Just for fun?"

Elle shook her head and averted her eyes. "No."

"No?" Claire countered.

Elle closed her eyes. "Well, slightly-"

"Slightly?" Claire snapped, her eyes widening.

"Are you a parrot?" Elle yelled finally looking toward her.

"Are you a parrot?" Claire mocked before realizing what a childish argument she got stuck in... and was losing. She straightened herself up. "You know what? Just go back to the hotel, Elle. I will stay here and clean up your mess."

Elle quickly got to her feet and glared at Claire. "Hey, I didn't do anything. That hallway girl has no idea there is anything out of the ordinary going on and I can't go back to the hotel."

Elle trailed off at the last part and Claire could feel concern creep into her voice even as she yelled, "What?"

"Sort of burned the hotel down. Don't panic," Elle said in a rush.

Claire quickly moved forward and strung her arms around Elle's form as if they belonged there as much as lights belonged on a Christmas tree.

"What do you mean? What happened? Are you alright? Was it Lazarus?" Claire asked, palming Elle's face in concern even as Elle struggled to pull out of the embrace as she was obviously and increasingly unfamiliar with it.

"No, it was me. I lost control of my power again. Control never was one of my strong suits. I overloaded all the electrical outlets. It all burned down so fast," Elle said, her words heavy with a mix of self depreciation and disorientation.

"Your power overloaded twice in two days?" Claire asked.

Elle tilted her head back and forth. "There's some stuff I didn't tell you."

The doorknob began to jiggle. Elle stopped talking just before Gretchen opened the door. Claire impulsively pulled away from Elle as if she had been caught doing something. The tension of all things not being said filled the air.

"Hi," Elle said with a blatant false brightness.

Gretchen frowned where she stood with her hand still twitching on the doorknob. "Hi. I heard yelling in my room."

"Oh yes, this is your room," Elle said as her eyes grazed the walls of the bedroom once again. Her eyes sauntered around the science mobiles with a smirk as Gretchen squirmed where she stood.

"Cute. It's cute," Elle said as she scrunched her nose with a smile.

Gretchen's frown twitched before she hesitantly crossed the room and stood next to Claire. After a moment, she jerkily attempted to put her arm around Claire but at Claire's raised eyebrow she settled for just grabbing Claire's arm like a bodyguard. Claire was nearly ready to just let Elle berate Gretchen for her ineffectual attempts to be possessive but when Elle began to narrow her eyes at Gretchen's behavior, Claire became worried that Elle had another zap planned for Gretchen.

"Thanks. I haven't redecorated in awhile," Gretchen said with badly faked casualty as she stuck out her lip and pretended to evaluate the room.

Claire looked past the two women and their antics and spotted Rene standing calmly at the door. She could swear he was almost amused. Whether he was or not, she was relieved at least electricity balls would not play a factor in whatever was to come.

"I'm glad you said that because it really looks like you haven't redecorated in awhile," Elle said with a showy grimace. With a pointed look towards Claire and Gretchen she added, "Could probably use a woman's touch instead of a young girl's."

After an intense moment, Elle began to laugh as if she just said a joke that was funny to all of them and a moment later Gretchen heartily joined in and Claire nervously laughed along as well trying to get a feel for whatever was happening. She glanced towards Rene and found him not laughing but not seeming surprised or confused by what was happening which made him more informed than Claire. If he knew what was going to happen why couldn't he tell Claire? Or at the very least intercede.

Gretchen stopped laughing but held her smile as she declared, "Funny, because I was just going to say you look a little old to be hanging out with a couple of teenage girls. Hmm, weird."

Gretchen and Elle began laughing together once again but this time much more tensely. Claire felt she was about to play bodyguard in this situation but to which girl?

"You know I hate it when people make judgments when they don't know what their talking about," Elle said. Her fingers moved through the air as if they were stroking some fine silk. The grace of the movement struck Claire as Elle's fingers were free from their counterpart, electricity. Claire was yanked out of her admiration when it occurred to her that this movement meant Elle's elegant violence was yearning to be turned against Gretchen.

"And yet you've been giving opinions since you got here about how my room needs redecorating, my house looks like something from the future and how Claire is supposed to be at your beck and call even while she's at work. Doesn't sound like you're much of a pleasant friend from what I've seen in the last few minutes. You're just full of judgments yourself," Gretchen said with a shrug.

Elle looked like she was about to charge at Gretchen but was unaccustomed due to the nature of her power. She was basically a human, long distance taser after all. To Claire's relief, Elle made no move to attack Gretchen or harm her in any way. Claire admired the restraint she never knew Elle had.

"Well, Claire and I are a little more than just friends. Didn't she tell you about how she kissed me on the beach last night?" Elle asked, nodding her head towards Claire.

Gretchen spun towards Claire with a cautiously hopeful expression as if she was waiting for Claire to prove Elle wrong. However, with one glance at Claire's shocked but resigned expression, Gretchen instantly dropped her hand from its possessive perch on Claire's arm. She ran her newly free hand through her hair as if it was never on Claire in the first place.

Claire sensed that Gretchen was embarrassed by the recent revelation but she was stung by her reaction none the less. It was not as if she intentionally betrayed Gretchen in any way. They were not even really dating at the moment. Now Gretchen was just another person who was disappointed with her.  
"Well, that's..." Gretchen trailed off, some of her passion fading from the argument before Elle chimed in.

"Yeah, yes it is. Good talk though. Seriously. You can leave us alone now," Elle smiled.

"Hey!" Gretchen yelled before Claire stepped in between them. "Okay, Gretchen, you need to stop this. Please? For me?" Claire said, moving her head around to catch Gretchen's stare which was firmly and angrily fixed on Elle.

Elle leaned close to Claire's ear. "Now? It's just getting good."

"Excuse me, could you just leave us alone," Gretchen asserted.

"Newsflash: you and her are not an us. She and I are the us," Elle said motioning between the three of them before whispering to Claire, "newsflash? That's a little joke I picked up on TV. I totally fit in with those non-specials you're so fond of."

"Claire?" Gretchen pleaded. She never was good with groups.

Claire toughened up and looked to Rene for support. Why could he erase her mind but not read it? Why would he not help her?

"Claire, isn't it time to get down to the point you were trying to make," Rene finally said as he entered the room a little more.

What the hell did that mean? Claire supposed it was time to stand up and make the right decision for the majority. It was all she had been doing for months.

"Gretchen, I really have to deal with Elle so it would be better if you could excuse us," Claire said calmly.

"Okay," Gretchen said quietly, her eyes still staring at Elle for a few moments before she began walking towards the door. Rene moved to follow her out.

Claire let out a sigh of relief before instructing the departing Rene and Gretchen, "Just go and start serving the breakfast that Gretchen made. We'll catch up."

"Breakfast? What are we having?" Elle chirped.

"Nothing. We're already out," Gretchen said quickly.

"Out of what?" Elle asked. Gretchen shrugged.

"You know, it's a good thing you stopped us when you did, Claire Bear. Doe Eyes can't even handle an argument for more than a minute. God knows she wouldn't be able to handle herself in a real fight. Probably couldn't even throw a punch." Elle taunted.

"I could if I wanted to," Gretchen shot back as she reentered the room.

Elle's eyes lit up with a different kind of spark, the excited one she got when causing trouble. "Prove it."

Claire began shaking her head and waving her arms. "No, no, no, no, no."

Elle lightly diverted Claire into one of the room's bookcases as she advanced forward. "See? Even Claire thinks you can't do it."

"Hey, don't push her around," Gretchen said, running towards Elle. She drew her hand far back into a comical position before moving forward to punch Elle. Rene put his arms around her and lifted her up to stop her, making her arm swing far away from ever hitting Elle.

Elle scoffed at the attempt. "My turn."

Elle tossed a punch that hit Gretchen right in the jaw, making them both yell out in pain as Gretchen grabbed her jaw and Elle grabbed her now sore fist.

"It's time to stop this," Rene said, struggling with containing both girls as Claire made her way back to the fight.

"What are you doing?" Claire asked looking between the girls.

"Currently? I'm leveling the playing field," Elle said before suddenly turning to Rene and pushing him into the wall behind them. Rene's head collided against the wall, leaving him disoriented for a moment. Claire immediately rushed to his side to check up on him.

Unfortunately for Elle, this also left her distracted when Gretchen tackled her to the ground.

"I'm okay. I'm okay," Rene assured Claire as he struggled to get his bearings. "Stop them."

Claire reluctantly pulled away from him to pull the two wrestling girls away from each other. Just as Claire was about to reach them, they rolled a few feet away until Elle was on top and ready to strangle Gretchen. Gretchen repeatedly kicked Elle in the shins until Elle began to shift. They continued to wrestle along the floor until Gretchen was on top.

Seizing her opportunity, Claire reached her arms around Gretchen's mid section in an attempt to pull them apart. At that same moment Elle was also thinking of a way to get Gretchen off of her with Rene awake. She raised her leg and pressed it against Gretchen's torso and kicked. She was surprisingly strong and spry and the force of her kick lifted Gretchen off of her and onto her butt. It also jetted Claire straight into the mirror behind her.  
All people in the room turned to the mirror as Claire crashed into it with a pain she could only describe and only she could understand as satisfying. Claire was soon getting lightheaded and her vision blurred around the matching shocked and concerned faces of Gretchen and Elle. They began to crawl towards her as fast as they could but before she succumbed to total darkness, Claire saw Rene put his hands on Gretchen and Elle's heads and their bodies fall limply to the ground.

"Now, was I right or was I right?" The spiky haired boy asked as he paced around his four associates. He bumped his shoulder roughly against the other young brunette man in the tent. Just because he did not have an ability, it did not make him afraid of someone who did.

The man who he brushed into, who did have an ability, rolled his shoulder away in an attempt to avoid contact with the spiky haired scruffy young man with the plaid shirt over his "geek chic" t-shirt. He knew why the other man bumped shoulders. It was not a display of comradeship. Their distaste for each other was barely veiled. The bump was meant to push his buttons. Just because he dressed nicely these days and came from an area where people dressed nicely, it meant he was a joke who could have his buttons pushed.

"It is a surprise," The 30 something, leggy and all too familiar looking blond drawled at the two men before she turned to their leader pointedly. "SOMEONE told us she would be in Europe."

"Well, I'm sorry," The dark complected man replied as he closed the notebook he was reading. "According to my research Elle was supposed to be in London at this time. How far we've all come."

'I'll say,' The spiky haired man thought to himself. He never thought he would ever be traveling through time with such an eclectic group of people, let alone one with an accent like their leader's. "I told you. The Sullivan carnival falling apart in a freak electrical storm? Yeah right. And now that she burned the hotel down we know where she is."

"We still have a problem," the honey haired young girl in the tent stated as she put out a cigarette in the sand. Her face was still young and cherubic, but the frown and intensity of her eyes marred her face, making her seem older and more weathered than she was at this point. "How are we going to get her with the Haitian and our favorite spokeswoman guarding her in the Fort Knox of mansions?"

"We could try something where I fly over..." The well groomed man suggested but trailed off as their leader began shaking his head.

Their leader stroked the stubble he had grown. He wanted to go home. He had people waiting for him, but he also knew that what they were doing was right. "We don't try anything. There is no room for mistakes. Hiro Nakamura is the only one coming to pick us up. If he realizes we're the Lazarus group at any point he will drop us in the Paleozoic Era. If we're going to capture Elle Bishop we have to do it right."


	11. Chapter 11

Title: "The Road Not Taken"

Rating: PG-13 probably.

Pairings: Claire/Elle, Claire/Gretchen

Summary: When Claire goes back in time to save Elle, her relationship with Gretchen is threatened.

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show "Heroes."

Note: Takes place after "Brave New World." The past takes place after "The Butterfly Effect." Thank you Lied and She-Hulk from the BAM Board and alexfoster451 on livejournal for all your help.

Chapter 11

_Claire opened her eyes and looked right into the afternoon sun. It was a luxury not many people had. Looking directly into the sun with no consequences was a luxury and Claire appreciated it. She tried to take advantage of every luxury she had. She knew she could be unappreciative and rebellious at times but she tried. Well, when she remembered she tried._

_She realized she was lying on a hotbed of sand and took a handful of it before she let it flow through her fingers. It was white and pure and flew in the direction of the ocean that was ebbing away from the shore. Was this the paradise she spotted from the patio? Her own personal oasis._

_Suddenly, Gretchen and Elle were standing above her on either side. Elle was clad in a strappy pink bikini while Gretchen wore a green one. Neither left much to the imagination._

"_Claire, are you okay? You look a little confused," Gretchen said with her free flowing hair blowing in her face._

"_She always looks like that. But are you, you know, okay? You should be. More than anyone else," Elle said before looking at Gretchen. "She eats a lot of vegetables. Very healthy."_

_Claire's mouth opened and closed a few times. This was really odd and yet not. Not knowing how to respond to any of this she finally settled on responding to their statement. "I'm immortal."_

"_Not everything's about you Claire," Elle chided before perkily smiling. "But we could be."_

"_Threesome?" Gretchen asked as she and Elle were already reaching to undo the ties on their bathing suits._

"_Okay," Claire said as she sat up. Nothing needed to make sense anymore as the girl's breasts fell out of their tops._

"_You can have us both," Elle said brightly as she tossed her bikini top in the ocean. "The three of us can have each other for a little while. Then we'll age and die."_

"_And you'll be all alone," Gretchen said with equal brightness as the bottom of her swimsuit fell from her hips. She leaned forward on the beach and stretched her body out next to Claire as Elle did the same._

_Claire was distracted. She liked the way this was heading but their words were striking a chord with her that was resonating too loud. "What?"_

"_Well, you'll want us for a little while but you won't want us when we're in our fifties and you're still young." Elle combed her hands comfortingly through Claire's hair. Claire wanted to relax into the touch but the words hurt her more and more. It was the only thing that could hurt anymore._

_Gretchen simultaneously ran her fingers up and down Claire's arm, a soft and tickling touch. "Then you'll live for centuries and centuries until you can't remember our faces or any of the time we spent together. You might not even remember how we died. Just that we were a couple of girls you might have loved once."_

_Claire could not look at them anymore. They became more adventurous in their touches, traveling the expanse of Claire's naked body. Claire did not remember getting naked but here she was and there they were. Every touch broke her heart more and more until the beach started to morph until it turned green and the ocean turned purple. It was at that moment when both pairs of hands were on her that Elle choose to remind her. "And you'll be all alone." _

Claire woke up with such a start she found herself sitting up. She looked around and found that she was on the small bed in her room of the mansion. It was not as comfortable as she remembered. It was itchy and far too warm. She wanted out. She wanted to escape. To escape from her room or from her dream was the question.

As she began to move quickly and attempt to escape the cot she noticed the strange texture against her skin. The sheets were moist and a texture coating her skin was dry and rough. It was actually familiar in a way that did not make her feel good or bad. She was covered in blood from the mirror.

She barely remembered it happening. She certainly did not see it coming. More than anything she was worried about the two girls collapsing in front of her after their fight. With that she got out of bed and made her way to her small bathroom.

She flicked on the bathroom light and almost did a double take in the mirror. She brushed the hair out of her face and ran her hand through the blood matted hair only to quit when she did not make progress with the dried globs. She knew she would have to clean up before she went outside. She looked like she just walked away from a murder scene. She did technically walk away from someone's death even if it was her own.

She took a seat on the edge of the tub and grabbed the brass handle in her hands and turned the hot water on. She leaned her hand into the shower spray and watched the blood come off of her hands layer by layer. She did not have the pain or the wound to prove she was human. All she ever had left was the mess that needed cleaning up.

Once her hand was sufficiently clean and the water was hot enough that steam was starting to rise in vertical clouds, Claire peeled her clothes off and stepped into the shower. In time and with a liberal amount of soap, all the grime began to disappear as always. A few pieces of glass revealed themselves as well.

Finally, she was clean and had to leave the steady streams of water for the unreliable and unpredictable consequences of the real word. She left the shower and dried her hair before whipping it up into a bun. She put on fresh underwear with a clean uniform and put all the bloody bedclothes and the maid's uniform into the hamper. She checked the carpet for blood spatters. Satisfied that she had done all she could to procrastinate responsibly, she went into the hall.

She was one step into the hall when she collided with Gretchen's stepsister, Delilah. Knowing she should be feeling some pain that she was not, she let out a groan of pain. Delilah's big eyes filled with worry.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Delilah said instantly backing away from her, almost cowering.

Claire felt bad for making any noise of pain at all as she put her hand on the girl's shoulder and knelt down just slightly to look in her eyes. "Of course, I'm okay. Are you okay? You were running down the hall awfully fast."

"Yeah, I was just going to play with the telescope. I wanted to get away from Mom and Dad kissing and Gretchen with her girlfriend," Delilah said ducking her head down shyly.

Claire's smile faltered. "Gretchen and who?"

"Her new girlfriend Elle," Delilah supplied with a perky smile. Claire smiled back as widely as she could, silently thanking the fact that she could heal otherwise Gretchen and Elle would have given her a heart attack by now.

As Claire's mind raced, she did not move an inch, causing Delilah's smile to slip off of her face.

"Claire?" Delilah asked with a slight tremble.

Claire's mind came back to the present and she took a step back and patted Delilah on the shoulder as she began to walk away. "Okay, well, I'll go see if anyone needs a snack. You wouldn't happen to know where Rene is, would you?"

"Um," Delilah said, moving around her ankle nervously. "He's on his cellphone, outside."

"Okay, thanks. Have fun telescoping," Claire called after the little girl.

"Okay," the little girl yelled without looking back; her little legs excitedly sprinting towards the stairs. Claire tried to wait until the girl was out of eyeshot before she ran in the opposite direction coming to a clumsy stop in front of Gretchen's bedroom.

Inside she found a sight she thought she would never see, Gretchen and Elle sitting close together on Gretchen's bed. They were both facing the television as Elle was animatedly playing with a game controller of a wii, moving her whole body across the bed with every move she made with the controller. Gretchen sat warily next to her, very still and only moving her controller every now and then. Most of her focus was on stealing curious glances at Elle's behavior.

"You're really good at this game," Gretchen said finally.

Elle shrugged without taking her eyes off the screen. "Yeah, I had one of these once. It takes a finally tuned skill. Makes me sort of thirsty."

Elle paused then and turned to face Claire in the doorway. A smug smile crossed her face as she eyed Claire up and down in her uniform. "Serving girl, you came just in time. May I have a water, bottled, but with a chilled glass?"

Gretchen turned to face Claire, curiosity and confusion still lingering in her eyes. "Claire, how's your head?"

Claire did not know how to respond to either of those questions, so she just stood there for a moment with her mouth open. She was waiting for sound to come out or something to happen instinctually. Her instincts failed her.

Elle sat back on her heels and leaned towards Gretchen. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to assume. Does your maid speak English?"

An unveiled glare took over Claire's features before she realized that she should not be glaring at "Gretchen's girlfriend." The thought of them together made her manic with jealousy but she was not sure which girl she was jealous of.

"Yes, she does. She just has the same head injury that I have," Gretchen explained to Elle who nodded with an exaggerated "Oh yeah."

Claire could not wait to hear this one.

"I could get the water for you. I need to talk this out with Claire anyway," Gretchen said as she swung her legs off the bed. Elle rested her arms against Gretchen's shoulders and eased her back on the bed.

"Allow me. You need to get over that concussion," Elle said in a sweet voice while poking Gretchen's head. Elle shakily got to her feet on the mattress and jumped along the bed until she landed on the floor and raised her hands up like an Olympic gymnast who had just completed a routine. She glanced at both girls with expectant looks.

"I give it a ten," Gretchen joked.

"Nine point five," Claire said, leaning against the doorway.

Elle tossed a sweet 1000 watt grin in Gretchen's direction with a "sweet" before swiveling her head towards Claire and dropping her smile to a frown with a "mean."

Elle stomped through the door and brushed the entire right side of her body against Claire as she went. Claire was tempted to follow her out but wanted to get a couple answers from Gretchen first like what the hell was this girlfriend business all about?

Claire stepped into the room and closed the door. Turning to Gretchen she asked, "what was that about my head?"

Gretchen sat forward, suddenly concerned again. "Is it okay? Mine's not okay. I have amnesia. What do you remember from today?"

Amnesia? No one who had their mind wiped ever remembered it being wiped. Well, except Peter and Hiro and her grandmother at one point... but they all healed and remembered what they forgot. They were not aware that someone made them forget something unless they were told as much or they awoke in a really strange situation.

'If seeing Gretchen and Elle in bed together was weird for me, it may have been weird for them too,' Claire reasoned to herself.

Claire hesitantly took a seat on the bed next to Gretchen. "I think I remember everything. Why? What do you remember?"

Gretchen took a moment to think and seemed to struggle in an all too familiar way. "I made a new background report for you and Rene. Then I went to the kitchen. To make breakfast? And then I met Elle and invited her in? And then I was helping you clean my mirror and it fell on us and hit our heads which is why I don't remember anything after heading to the kitchen this morning."

Claire frowned knowingly. "You don't sound too sure about a lot of that."

"It's because I hit my head. Rene and Elle told me all about it and how you hit your head too, which is why you were lying down in the other room. Right?" Gretchen asked.

Claire did not like this at all. "Yes, that's right. I remember this all happening just like you said."

Gretchen nodded, seeming to accept the story more once Claire confirmed her. Claire felt worse for deceiving her a little more. She hoped Elle was not being deceived this way as well.

Gretchen scratched her ear, her hand lingering by her head as if she did not trust her own brain at the moment. "I like Elle. I mean she's pretty and funny and nice-ish and knows a lot of weird stuff on weird subjects which I really respond to. I just..."

Gretchen had a far away look in her eye. She was not really focusing on anything around her. It was something Claire's mother Sandra did at times and it made her very tense ever since she found out the cause and the damage of memory erasing.

Claire put her hand on Gretchen's to bring her back to the present. Gretchen made eye contact with Claire but was still a little hazy and far away.

After a few strained moments for Claire, Gretchen spoke again. "Do you remember if Elle seemed to like me at all when she first came in? I mean she seems great, but the first time I saw her look at something other than the television screen was when you walked in."

Claire thought about how to answer this without completely lying. As she thought back to the fight the girls were embroiled in she said, "She was all over you. There was even a moment when I was in the room where she was on top of you, horizontally speaking."

"Really?" Gretchen asked, her eyes widening in amazement.

Claire nodded. "Really."

Gretchen shook her head. "I can't believe that."

A shock went through Claire's heart. Could she tell Claire was lying? "Why not?"

"I'm such a jerk. I can't believe I did that in front of you after we kissed the other day. I mean, I know we agreed to be friends with a fresh start but wow. That's so insensitive. Claire, you have to forgive me," Gretchen pleaded, finally completely focusing on the girl in front of her and taking both of Claire's hands in hers.

Claire smiled hating herself and Rene all the time. "Of course."

"You're so nice to me," Gretchen said.

The heartfelt tone of Gretchen's voice was all Claire could take. She needed to leave the room immediately. She released Gretchen's hands and quickly rose from the bed. She speed walked to the door, yanked it open and quickly closed it behind her.

She turned her head to the right and saw Elle strolling toward her, flirtatiously sipping out of a water bottle with a straw. How did she know where the straws were? Claire did not even know.

"Elle, do you remember or not remember, Gretchen inviting you in here?" Claire asked desperately.

Elle dropped the straw from her mouth with a grimace. "What? Are you kidding? No. Just had to convince her she and I were dating as a cover until you guys could get me out of here. I mean, there are worse covers than pretending to date a brainwashed billionaire."

Relief overtook Claire's features as she began to subconsciously step toward Elle, needing to be close to her for some reason. She was thrilled beyond belief Elle was actually okay.

"So, this is just a cover and nothing more. No trickery and no revenge for the kiss?" Claire asked hopefully.

"What kiss?" Elle asked.

Claire laughed at the question before eyeing Elle with something resembling bedroom eyes as she told Elle, "You know what kiss."

Time stretched on and Claire became increasingly aware that Elle was not being coy, playing a game or simply being difficult. She had no idea what Claire was talking about.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_  
"Well, Claire and I are a little more than just friends. Didn't she tell you about how she kissed me on the beach last night?" Elle asked, nodding her head towards Claire. _

Rene heard Elle bragging to Gretchen. He wiped her. Claire was instantly and inexplicably furious.

Elle waved her hand in front of Claire's face as she tried to get her attention. She gave up after a couple seconds and walked back into Gretchen's bedroom, leaving the door open behind her.

Claire was tempted to follow her in there. She did not know what she would say but she felt she should say something. She stopped herself from going in when she heard a door close to her left.

Rene had just entered at the end of the hall. His cellphone was still in his hands. Claire stormed towards him and he simply stood there as if he expected her to.

"Outside," Claire said when she finally reached him. She pointed outside and did not wait for him to follow her as she rushed out onto the sand. She quickly spun around to face him. "What the hell, Rene?"

"What are you referring to?" Rene asked, as he closed the door behind them and shoved his hands in his pockets.

Claire laughed, the sound of which was cruel even to her own ears as she kicked the sand underneath her feet. "Let's start with amnesia, shall we? Telling someone whose memory was wiped that they have amnesia. That's new for you."

"Stealing secrets from a person's mind is an easy thing. Placing ideas in there is quite another," Rene said cryptically.

"Interesting concept. They should make a movie about it someday. Back to the actual answers though. What's with the wiping?" Claire snapped as she got closer to Rene. He did not back down.

"Claire, this is a two person mission and it's getting more complicated by the second," Rene said quickly. Claire opened her mouth to voice an opinion but Rene plowed on. "The girls were fighting and you were dead and would stay dead until you and I were in separate rooms. I had to manage the situation by myself, keeping everyone alive and safe. I could not do that the way things were going."

"So, this was your solution?" Claire asked weakly, though she saw his point. It did not make up for what he did.

"I needed Elle somewhere where we could keep an eye on her until we could find a safe house for her. You could not help. No one could help at that moment. The only way to keep her here and to let the Bergs keep her here was to remove the conflict that you created," Rene said.

Claire was always shorter than most but she never felt towered by Rene. She never felt inferior to him despite meeting him when she was only a teenager. He was tall and mysterious while she was short and something of an open book when it came to those she confided in. He always spoke with unflinching elegance and calmness. Her speech was full of passion and recklessness. Somehow through all of it, she always felt that she was equal.

In this moment she did not. His speech may have been delivered with his own special cadence but even after all his years of friendship with her father Noah, he had never resembled her father more than he did now. It was not in appearance or in personality, it was the feeling Claire had in her gut as he lectured her. The feeling that she did not know as much as she thought and that her recklessness had a consequence.

"I could not take her somewhere or leave her somewhere without you. I needed to make other arrangements here," Rene said somewhat softer.

Claire crossed her arms. Ready to stay angry but fighting it as she felt she had a lesson coming. "Why couldn't you move her?"

"It's too risky since the entire point of our mission is to protect her from Lazarus group. They could already be here. Now that she is a target, we are all targets. Even the Bergs. Even Gretchen. We have to be cautious and only move her when the time is right," Rene said as he began to pace away from her.

More pieces fell into place as he moved away from her. He was close with her dad, her uncle, her grandmother. If there was a person on the task force to investigate the Lazarus group he would be on it. He knew more than he was letting on.

"What do you know about the Lazarus group? Before you say nothing or that it's need to know. Now is the need to know time. Lives are in our hands. You have to tell me before anything else goes wrong. What do you know?" Claire asked.

Rene was silent for a moment and Claire became convinced she did not get through. She was ready to give up on asking. She gave it her best shot. He was the best secret keeper she knew.

"We have someone on the inside of the group. They have not been able to give many messages to us. Their cover is so deep they cannot be seen talking to any of us for more than a few seconds every few months. We know that the Lazarus group is made up of people we are already familiar with. And we know they have a power sharer," Rene said before sitting cross legged in the sand. He seemed as if he wanted to meditate and Claire sat next to him as she also wanted to take this information in.

"Who is our person on the inside?" Claire asked.

"I cannot tell you. I dare not say it out loud while we are out here. On a mission nowhere is safe," Rene said.

Claire nodded and accepted she would not get that information at this moment. "A power sharer? Is that like an empath?"

Rene shook his head. "An empath could not be in a group such as Lazarus that wants so many dead. A power sharer is not like Peter's power or Arthur's power or Sylar's power. Empaths take the powers of others and copy them. A power sharer is something like... a CD burner."

Claire did not know that Rene even knew what CD burner was. She was sure she had not heard him right. "CD burner?"

"I believe so," Rene said. "When you have a CD, the original does whatever it was originally meant to. When you use a CD burner it copies the contents of the CD onto another one. A power sharer copies a power from someone and puts into another person. In some cases, many other people."

Claire took a minute to think this over. "So..."

"So, you are immortal. Say you are facing five Lazarus agents. You have an advantage because you are immortal but then the power sharer copies your ability and puts it into the other four agents. Now, you're immortal against four other immortals who possess whatever powers they originally had. You're outnumbered and overpowered," Rene said.

Claire nodded, her mind less on her safety and more on Elle's. "So, if they corner Elle alone. They could get her power and use it against her despite the fact it's already being used against her."

Rene nodded, seemingly pleased that she was in the company girl mind set. Her heart may be leading her but she was in that mind set now.

"What are the limitations of a power sharer? Weaknesses?" Claire asked, tracing patterns in the sand.

"A power sharer needs to be in close proximity of an ability and they can never take on another ability themselves," Rene said, tossing a look at Claire and waited for her to come to the obvious conclusion. She sensed he wanted her to say something so he could explain more but choose to indulge him.

"That would mean if we could incapacitate the power sharer, we could stand a chance in a fight," Claire concluded.

Rene nodded. "And that's what the Lazarus group does. It's why they want Elle. They're not collecting soldiers as much as they are collecting abilities to copy. It just helps if the people with abilities are willing to be swayed to the cell."

Claire realized what this meant. Elle was chosen because she had killed before. Claire and Rene were protecting her and the Lazarus group was expecting Elle to be willing to kill them if they made her a good enough offer. If not...

"That's what you meant about an empath never being a part of the Lazarus group," Claire said.

"Peter was very empathetic and became an empath. You can bounce back from every set back and you acquired the ability to heal from any wound. Tracy Strauss was known as an ice queen and she had the power to turn things to ice. Matt Parkman could not read words very well, only people and he got the ability to read minds," Rene continued.

This time Claire interrupted him. "Elle has an electric and at times violent personality and she can control electricity. The powers are more a part of us than I ever wanted to admit. What's that make a power sharer?"

"A self interested thief which means we have to protect ourselves and Elle and the Bergs. The power sharer may be able to override even my power if all the others possess it," Rene said.

Claire had more answers than she wanted and less answers than she wanted. She needed to know more about who was targeting them and how they could all get out of this okay. All she knew now was that they were in danger and just by being there she was bringing danger to them. To Elle and Gretchen.

All Claire could ask was, "So, what do we do now?"

"You go and watch the girls while I finish making the arrangements," Rene suggested.

Claire nodded and stood up without looking at him. She turned on her heel and headed towards the house. She opened the door and traveled the lonely hallway back to Gretchen's room. She stood outside the threshold where Gretchen and Elle were both animatedly playing the wii.

She could not bring herself to go inside. It was a problem she had despite the flecks of hope every couple years. Since she was 15 years old, no matter what abilities she had and others had, whether she was hiding or out in the open, she was always all alone.


	12. Chapter 12

Title: "The Road Not Taken"

Rating: PG-13 probably.

Pairings: Claire/Elle, Claire/Gretchen

Summary: When Claire goes back in time to save Elle, her relationship with Gretchen is threatened.

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show "Heroes."

Note: Takes place after "Brave New World." The past takes place after "The Butterfly Effect." Thank you Lied and She-Hulk from the BAM Board.

Chapter 12

"And she said that's the way I cut carrots," Elle said with a laugh before taking a swig from her glass of red wine. The Bergs laughed along with her from their own positions at the table.

Claire wondered if they were actually listening to anything Elle was saying. She had just told a graphic story about someone being murdered while chopping carrots. The family just laughed along. It seemed they were more worried about their own appearances and conversation tactics rather than Elle's.

Gretchen had only been out of the hospital for a few weeks. Bringing home anyone including a murder enthusiast was probably progress for Gretchen's self esteem and interactions with people. Gretchen used to have something of a death fascination when Claire first met her as well. Gretchen was probably now working under the impression that this attracted girls and her family did nothing to contradict this. Probably because she had the money to back it up.

"I love carrots," Bernie chirped. His elbows were rested on the table with his hands folded so they were partially obscuring his face. "Don't you all like carrots, ladies?" Delilah, Joanna and Gretchen nodded while Elle frowned.

"I could never really get into carrots that much after that. I mean there's something about seeing the peeled carrots right next to the flayed skin," Elle shook her head, the images obviously playing somewhere in her mind by the faraway look in her eyes.

"Do you need some more water?" Claire asked quickly as she took a step forward.

Elle pretended to think about it. Her face was scrunching up cutely, hiding the ghost of a smile at having Claire at her mercy. After pouting, squinting and cradling her face angelically within her palm, Elle finally breathed, "No, I'm good."

Claire nodded politely and took a step back so her back was against the wall. It was infuriating to just sit there and watch the interaction but she had to be there to clear plates, refresh beverages and keep Elle from changing her steak from rare to well done at the dinner table.

"Well, I think we're about done here. Claire, would you clear the plates and bring out the dessert, please?" Mr. Berg said as he gestured around the table. No one disagreed with him though Joanna and Delilah's plates were still pretty full. Claire guessed stories about murder and flayed skin could kill an appetite.

"Right away, Mr. Berg," Claire said in monotone as she reached over and began clearing plates. She paid extra attention to yanking the steak knife out of Elle's hand before she left. "The sorbet will be out in a minute. You won't need a knife."

Elle did not respond to her but rather to the table. "It's a good thing it's sorbet. I also have stories about jello and creme brulee."

Claire walked from the room calmly but the second she entered the kitchen where Rene was serving up the sorbet she threw the plates onto the counter with a loud clank.

"Is there a problem?" Rene asked calmly as he placed mint leaves in the small crystal bowls containing the sweet dessert.

"No, not with Elle anyway," Claire grumbled as she rested against the counter. "I mean she's telling a lot of stories but I know most of them aren't true. She's lived a sheltered life and I know she's not nearly that bad. She's got good in her. I'm sure of it."

Claire toyed with a cloth napkin for a moment, teasing out the frayed end. Rene smiled knowingly at her distress.

"Then what is wrong?" Rene asked.

Claire thought about holding it in. She never really was one to talk about the relationships she was in. She had not been intentionally secretive. It just happened that way since she admitted to liking Brody the quarterback of the football team. Look how that turned out. Romance was the one part of her life that she did not mind keeping hidden but who was Rene going to tell?

"So, Elle is gorgeous and charming and funny and does try to do the right thing on occasion," Claire started.

Rene smiled, his tone surprisingly light. "Yes, I suppose that's true."

Claire waved her hand flippantly at the idea of complimenting Elle to Rene for no reason. "This is not where you think this is going. Okay, we know all that about her because we know her. To the average person... well, I guess to the average person she seems like a totally normal cute girl, but she's acting like a total nut right now and the Bergs are just completely fine with it."

Rene tilted his head. "So, your problem is that there is no problem," Rene said as a statement rather than a question.

"No, my problem is even when Elle is showing up out of nowhere, hitting on Gretchen and talking murder at the dinner table the Bergs are fine with it, but they're not fine with me. They disowned Gretchen for dating me because I was too weird. I'm too weird for them in comparison to the little show that Elle is putting on for them. Really?" Claire asked, vulnerability and unhappiness quivering through her voice.

Rene walked around the counter and leaned on it next to Claire, mirroring her posture. They exchanged a smile at the same time.

"Elle is beautiful and comes off as eccentric and full of tall tales," Rene said calmly. "You changed the world by being the most different person anyone has ever seen. You are someone most people don't understand and Gretchen chose to stay with you rather than go running back to her family. That's a lot scarier than meeting a strange and attractive girl on vacation."

Claire had to admit that was probably true. She hated to admit it but it sounded too true. More than anything she did not want to admit that out loud. Rene was a great friend but she did not want a great friend right now. She wanted space.

Claire slapped the counter before pushing her body off of it with a smile. "I need to go clean the rest of the dishes."

Claire stepped towards the door with a put on spring in her step as she pushed her body into the door to make it open. She took a brief second to put on another extra cheery smile for the family.

She knew Elle probably felt more different than her, perhaps even more isolated but she never showed it or faltered for a second in Claire's opinion. In fact, she seemed proud. Her only goal seemed to be making up for lost time and healing her power of course. Claire could not help but be jealous of Elle for not having Claire's teenage insecurities and over reactions.

Elle felt different and got to be proud of that fact. Claire felt different and it always hurt, even when she could not feel any pain at all.

_Claire felt bad for stealing it._

_She rummaged through Lyle's room. It looked like a disaster zone afterwards but it always did. She doubted Lyle would even notice, let alone anyone else._

_Her dad had given it to Lyle. For a brief period after Claire found out that both she and Lyle were adopted she wondered if the gifts they got were the Bennet's way of trying to buy their love. She later decided it was a confirmation of love. Her father would think of nothing but his family while he was away and as he would think of them, he would buy them presents. _

_Claire had the bears because she was her dad's Claire-bear, but Lyle was the man in training. The manly things were the things that were just Lyle and her dad. They had the boy scouts and the fishing and the hunting. Well, they at least tried to hunt. Being a paper salesman her father did not really have a chance to be anything other than a lousy shot._

_It was the knife she needed. The swiss army knife with the trusty blade that her father brought home on Valentine's Day for Lyle when he brought her the bear with the red hat, holding the heart that said 'I love you.'_

_She needed it to see if her eyes were playing tricks. Maybe she just was not getting enough calcium. Or too much. She heard rumors of cheerleaders hazing each other by spiking water bottles. It could be that. Jackie always was a little too into the cheerleading. Anything but what Claire could have sworn happened made sense._

_She was making brownies as a surprise for her mother's birthday. She felt like she was old enough but it would be a thing of work to get out of her parent's supervision. Finally, a moment came. Her father took a last minute business trip (having to promise about eight million times that he would be back the next day for her mother's birthday) and her mom was taking Lyle to a dentist appointment. It was the only opportunity that Claire would get._

_She set about her work with the ambitious task of making peanut butter M&M brownies with ultimately disastrous results. As she was cutting chocolate the knife slipped, nearly taking her whole thumb off. However, she barely had time to run some water over it in the sink before it began to heal. The pain disappeared with the wound and Claire began to shake. _

_She tossed out the brownie mix and cleaned up the blood. She just wanted to forget the whole thing ever happened but she stayed up every night for weeks just tossing and turning. She almost fell asleep in class on the first day of school and was totally exhausted during cheerleading practice, something that was frowned upon given she was a co-captain._

_She could not keep being haunted by something that did not happen. She needed to prove to herself she was fine. She poised the knife over her wrist when Mr. Muggles pushed his way into the bathroom with his nose._

_Claire quickly got to her feet and pushed the door closed behind him and locked it this time. She sat back down near the tub where Mr. Muggles crawled into her lap._

_She took a moment and poised the knife over her wrist again. She decided to poke, just poke, not break the skin at first. She was not looking to die. She was a happy, healthy teenage girl. She just wanted to prove something to herself._

_She poked herself lightly in the wrist. It stung. That was a good sign. It proved this at least this was not a dream. It hurt which meant she was fine and the tests could end there._

_Claire let out a shaky breath and knew she would not be satisfied until she was sure. She just had to know. She put the blade against her wrist until it stung again but this time she pushed a little further so that the blade punctured skin until a little red dot presented itself. It hurt and it was there. It was proof. Claire smiled as she cried tears of joy and relief. She was fine. Everything was... fine. _

_It was too fine Claire realized. The blood sucked itself back into her skin and the wound closed as if it was never there. She repeated the action, making the wound a little larger and the same thing happened only faster._

_Claire broke then, tears filling her eyes and obscuring her vision. She stopped playing around and went for the real thing. She was crying so much she could not see what was happening but could feel it as she dragged the blade over again and again. She could feel it healing. Finally, she blinked away some tears and made it happen over and over before her very eyes until she could not ignore it anymore._

_In a fit of panic and rage she tossed the knife away and heard it clang into the sink. She curled her body into a ball around Mr. Muggles and buried her sobbing face into the dog's fur._

_She hated this feeling. She felt like a normal girl, looked like one, thought like one but she was some kind of mutant, a monster. A freak. Why couldn't she stop herself from healing like that?_

_She sobbed for over an hour on the linoleum floor with the dog patiently by her side. Her own excess blood formed a red bracelet around her wrist. _

_And every so often she would occasionally whisper, "What's wrong with me? What's wrong with me?" _

Claire double checked the information Rene handed her and stuffed the page into the pocket of her deep blue peacoat. Rene turned on the dishwasher and the pair strolled into the hallway, heading into different directions. Rene set off to put the house to sleep while Claire went in search of her girls.

She stretched her arm out and reached it toward a wall. As she walked along she dragged her fingertips with a feather light touch against the perfectly smooth glass. It was something she had seen Elle do before though electricity was shooting from Elle's fingers at the time, connecting her to everything just beyond her reach. Claire longed for something like that now. She wanted to be connected to everything and live in Elle's world where she could. Elle's world was at times smaller than her own but at least there she could always get the things out of her reach.

She grasped the door frame to Gretchen's room and swung around to find Gretchen sitting at the computer now with Elle perched on her lap.

"Now, see I had a bear that was pretty big but I lost it in a fiery, electrical stormy, ride crash, but then I thought you can get me one the size of this room from the internet," Elle giggled excitedly, clapping her hands together.

Claire cleared her throat to make her presence known. Elle immediately wilted as her clapping died off. Elle collapsed by resting her head against Gretchen's shoulder with a frown. The sight of them together only made Claire more eager to interrupt.

"Elle, I'm supposed to escort you to your hotel now," Claire said.

Elle looked confused and angled her mouth to the side for a second before finally relenting and jumping out of Gretchen's embrace. Elle strolled towards Claire sashaying side to side for Gretchen's benefit. Claire pulled Elle impatiently through the threshold as Elle waved goodbye to Gretchen with a flirtatious wink.

"I'll make sure she gets back safe," Claire assured Gretchen as she closed the door. After a moment she felt strange because of her statement and all of its complications but shook it off as she motioned for Elle to follow her.

They moved silently towards the back door. Claire studied her every now and then. Restless energy was forever coursing through Elle's veins. She clapped her hands together as she walked and looked from side to side and all around. Claire finally noticed she was looking for something in particular.

"Where's the Hatian?" Elle asked.

Claire opened the door and Elle stepped out ahead of her. Elle kicked off her sandals and jumped right into the sand and wiggled her toes. She bent down and picked up her sandals and began walking along with them flopping around in her hand. It was a nice idea so Claire took off her shoes and sprinted a bit to catch up with Elle.

"He's not coming. He's staying to watch over the house," Claire said once she reached Elle's side.

Elle stopped in her tracks causing Claire to spin around to face her. "What do you mean he's not coming? Who's going to keep me from burning the new place down?"

Claire lightly took Elle's hand in hers and offered her a soft smile. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Trust me. You don't have to worry anything. We know what we're up against now."

Claire let their coupled hands fall apart and began walking once again in the direction that Rene instructed. Elle walked alongside her keeping their once joined hands brushing against each other.

They did not see the figure overhead who was flying a few hundred feet away to avoid being seen. He was watching their entire interaction play out and could not lie about the fact that he was surprised. With what he was seeing, Lazarus business was the furthest thing from his mind. "I thought I was the one that had a thing for you, Claire."


	13. Chapter 13

Title: "The Road Not Taken"

Rating: PG-13 probably.

Pairings: Claire/Elle, Claire/Gretchen

Summary: When Claire goes back in time to save Elle, her relationship with Gretchen is threatened.

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show "Heroes," Paradise Lost or Alice in Wonderland.

Note: Takes place after "Brave New World." The past takes place after "The Butterfly Effect." Thank you Lied and She-Hulk from the BAM Board.

Chapter 13

Claire slid the key quickly through the lock and turned the handle. She entered the hotel room and held the door open behind her. She waited for Elle to follow her through the threshold but Elle remained where she was for a moment. She finally let out a breath and a smile as she passed by Claire into the room.

Elle took a moment to examine their new surroundings and Claire did the same.

It was all very Spartan in Claire's opinion. There was a bed with crisp white sheets and a pillow and a heavy blue wool blanket resting on top. A large oak clothes cabinet was on one side of the room and toward over Claire. An old bookshelf rested on another wall. It featured peeling paint with childlike decorations of multicolored hearts and flowers. It was filled with leather bound books from Paradise Lost to Alice in Wonderland. There had to be at least twelve dozen books crammed together on the shelves. The only light in the room was lanterns in the four corners of the room, a medium distance from the ceiling.

Claire and Elle ventured a few feet deeper into the room to see the bathroom where there was a shower, sink, toilet and mirror cabinet. There were no electronics, nothing that could be plugged in and Claire finally noticed that all the electrical outlets were closed off and painted over. Rene had taken care of everything.

"So, I guess there's no chance of me having another outburst," Elle said as she walked through the small room. Claire could not tell if she was speaking to her or herself but she sounded unsure either way.

"I could stay if you don't feel safe," Claire offered.

Elle froze, before turning to face Claire. A tentative smile graced her features. "Cheerleader, I'm afraid you don't have what I need."

Claire frowned, hurt for some reason. "What do you mean? What do you need?"

"The Haitian to block my powers so I don't explode or hurt myself. If I need someone to spell out a football team's name with their arms I'll call you," Elle said, sitting down on the bed.

Claire smirked before sitting down next to her. "First of all, I haven't been a cheerleader for a very long time. At least not in the literal sense."

"Aren't you one now?" Elle asked as she threw her a suspicious look.

Claire shook her head. "Not in my time."

Elle nodded and let her hands smooth out over the bedspread. "That's right. That's right. You're from the future. Any advice? Things I should invest in. Movies I should rent or miss?"

Claire thought for a minute about whether to avoid the question or whether she should get into it. Finally, she decided to rest on one of her old fall backs. "Hiro says we're not supposed to give away even the slightest bit of information when we time travel. Not supposed to step on any butterflies and things like that."

"So, you're friends with Hiro Nakamura? What an interesting bit of information you just gave away to me." Elle smirked.

Claire closed her eyes trying desperately to recall the information for herself. Hiro was one of her closest friends in the present. She loved his eternal optimism, hilarity and belief in the cause. It was something she herself lacked a lot of the time. He was one of her strongest allies. She felt as if she had known him forever, but Elle's statement made her remember. She did not meet him until the day Elle died. Dammit.

"Okay, you win this round, but you can't keep prying information out of me," Claire warned in a good natured tone as she wiggled her index finger in Elle's face.

Elle swiped the offending finger away as she got up off the bed and tossed a wink in Claire's direction. "Now, what fun would that be?"

Claire laughed for a moment before an awkward silence rolled upon them. Their minds were obviously in two different places. Claire was worrying about keeping her guard up and there was obviously something troubling Elle as well as she anxiously ran her palms repeatedly over her jean clad thighs. Claire could not take it. Even Elle's nervous ticks were sensual and it was taking Claire back to the dream she had about the beach.

"You're going to be good, right? If we keep hanging at the Bergs to keep you safe?" Claire asked.

This seemed to draw Elle's attention back as her features visibly relaxed when she faced Claire again. "Yes. Don't worry. I won't embarrass you in front of the family. I was never one to bite the hand that feeds me. I'm a sociopath, but not that crazy."

If Claire were a wittier person like say the million and one villains she came in contact with during her life, she would have done a million different things with that statement. As it was she just decided to let the statement lie as it was and remain silent. At least until Elle had something to say.

She did not have to wait long before Elle spoke. "So, not to be weird or anything but are you going to be here when I shower?"

Claire was not expecting that to be Elle's concern. It was now a concern of Claire's as well. "Um, well, I hadn't really thought about it. I'll be here if you want me to be here. If you feel you need me."

"Okay," Elle said after a moment. She stood there giving Claire a long look that was neither flirtatious or disgusted.

Claire did not know how to respond to Elle's sudden ambiguity so she finally said, "okay."

Elle walked around the bed and opened the cabinet and took out a fluffy terrycloth robe. Claire was about to ask how she knew it was there but it occurred to her that she also knew Rene had covered everything. Elle did not say another word as she brushed past Claire and entered the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Claire heard the shower turn on and the soft spray come down in a steady stream. It was enough to make Claire anxious as she was struggling not to picture what Elle was doing inside or anything else for that matter. Claire longed for the television which was always good a little sensory overload but one was not here. What was the use if Elle might explode it anyway?

Claire sprung to her feet and grabbed a copy of Alice in Wonderland off the shelf. She flipped to the first page and her eyes were drawn to the first quote she saw.

"_And what is the use of a book," thought Alice, "without pictures or conversations?" _

'Not a good enough distraction. That's what,' Claire thought to herself as she flipped the book shut in her palm. Claire immediately threw the book haphazardly back on the shelf as a scream resonated through the sparse room. Without hesitating Claire threw her body at the bathroom door until it broke open. She was not one to be worried about herself anyway and was less worried as her bruises began to heal while she crouched down next to Elle.

She was shocked at the state she found her in. Elle was laying face down on the floor of the bathtub, one arm desperately grasping around the toilet. The shower curtain had fallen off the rod and was contorted around her nude form. Electricity arcs were flowing all around Elle's body as the unrelenting shower stream continued to pour on her.

Claire did not hesitate despite the awkwardness of the situation. She wrapped her arms around Elle's stomach and yanked her out of the tub. She dragged her out of the bathroom as quickly as possible so her muscles would not give way and Elle would not be in pain for long.

Elle protested as she was dragged along. "S-s- stop. Pu- put me down. This happens all the time."

Claire did not respond as she finally sat Elle down on top of the bed. She quickly grabbed the bedspread and sheathed Elle in it. She pulled Elle's wet hair out and let it rest on the outside of the blanket so less moisture was touching Elle's skin. She rubbed the blanket up and down all over Elle's body, not caring for the moment about modesty and personal space as the older girl continued to whimper with the electricity she could not control.

As Elle seemed to dry the blue and white sparks died down and Claire became intensely aware of the exposed skin she was facing and caressing with rough abandon.

Elle's cleared throat brought her out of her reverie and she quickly ran into the bathroom to turn off the shower and escape the awkwardness of the situation. She stood there for a moment, selfishly wanting to get her bearings when she realized that Elle probably needed her right now whether she liked it or not.

Claire ventured back into the room where Elle was laying in the fetal position in the center of the bed. She seemed to have calmed down a lot though she still looked weak and small. Claire did not know what to do next when something occurred to her.

Claire sat down at the edge of the bed and pushed the wet hair away from her face again. She rubbed Elle's shoulder soothingly before she spoke, "you said this happened before?"

"It happens pretty often now. It used to only happen before if I accidently got hit with water when I wasn't expecting it. Since Sylar attacked me it happens all the time. My last hotel is proof of that," Elle said not meeting Claire's eyes.

"I'm sorry. I know how much he could hurt someone," Claire said.

Elle laughed against the pillow. "Everything that's happened and you're still nice to me. I kind of hate you for that."

Claire smiled too. "Really? You hate me?"

"Kinda," Elle admitted. Claire could not tell if Elle was joking or serious but she did not seem to mind Claire's presence that much.

"Kinda," Claire allowed with a nod, before whispering, "I guess I can live with that."

"Yeah, I kinda hate you, but I also kinda," Elle began with a light tone before looking Claire in the eye. A meaningful silence grew between them and Claire's throat went dry. She licked her lips, an action that drew Elle's eye and Claire waited for her to say something, anything but she just stared.

They were all alone with no distractions, no conversations, and no unrelenting images to fill their silence. There was nothing but the pain and emptiness that filled the room and Claire found herself drawn to it like an addict. She was beginning to crave it. Crave that familiar feeling. Claire could not feel a thing; not a moment of pain no matter how much she craved it just to prove she was alive. Elle could not escape the pain no matter how much she tried in the hopes of staying alive. Maybe if they shared an experience, a moment of getting at least one thing that they wanted they could both get that rare moment of peace.

With that thought, Claire cupped Elle's face, lowered her head and brushed her lips with Elle's.


	14. Chapter 14

Title: "The Road Not Taken"

Rating: PG-13 probably.

Pairings: Claire/Elle, Claire/Gretchen

Summary: When Claire goes back in time to save Elle, her relationship with Gretchen is threatened.

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show "Heroes" or "Imma Be" by the Black Eyed Peas.

Note: Takes place after "Brave New World." The past takes place after "The Butterfly Effect." Thank you Lied and She-Hulk from the BAM Board.

Chapter 14

Claire groaned as she awkwardly fell on her elbow. It had been a good month since she had made out with anyone. It had been years since she had made out with anyone other than Gretchen. As for Elle, Claire was extremely sure that Elle had never made out with anyone ever. That explained her strange tenseness and how she would occasionally shock Claire whenever she moved and held Claire so hard the former cheerleader bruised.

Claire was also sure that her hair must have looked crazy with the continued electrical charge being pumped through her but she could not deny the appeal of the tingling sensation through her skin even if it was so overpowering she was falling all over herself and Elle. It did not help things that Claire was working hard to keep every part of her body away from Elle, knowing that Elle was naked under the blanket. Claire could feel said blanket slipping unintentionally or possibly intentionally underneath her palms as things got more heated.

Unfortunately, when Claire's cellphone began ringing to the tune of "Imma Be" by the Black Eyed Peas, Elle let out a frightened blast so powerful it knocked Claire off the bed and into the wall.

Claire heard a crack and things went black for a moment. When her eyes fluttered open once again she instinctively reached for her head even though she knew no injury would be waiting for her there. She wondered fleetingly if the walls were soundproof as her eyes settled on the bed where Elle was looking at her with a rather annoyed expression.

"What was that?" Elle snapped as she angled her head to look at Claire on the floor.

Claire tilted her neck from side to side and blinked a few moments before responding. "It was my cellphone."

Elle huffed and bounced her legs on the bed impatiently. "No, not that. The song. What was the song?"

Claire shrugged as she began to push herself up on her hands as she straightened up against the wall until she was finally standing. "It's just some song."

Elle's eyes widened as a smile stretched across her face. Claire was never one to see little birdies fly around her head when she got a head injury but she could almost see a lightbulb form over Elle's head at that moment.

"You should tell me every hit song that came out. That way I could be ahead of the times. Run with all you cheerleader cool kids with your rock music," Elle suggested teasingly.

Claire rolled her eyes. "I already told you; no stepping on butterflies."

Elle repositioned herself until she was sitting on her knees and clutching the bedspread to her chest. Claire quickly turned her eyes up to the ceiling before she could do something less than noble.

Elle ignored the younger girl's obvious discomfort as she spoke. "First of all, that's a stupid expression. I don't know why. It's just annoying. Second of all, you keep saying it but you're kind of awful at not revealing the future."

Claire thought about how to answer that when something more pressing occurred to her. "I have to take that phone call."

Claire walked outside the hotel room and shut the door behind her as quickly as possible. She glanced both ways in the apparently empty hallway. With a deep breath she pulled out her phone which she hoped did not have a fried or crushed battery from what just took place. She swore if healing were not her power she would have been dead a long time ago.

She was relieved when the phone screen lit up. She hoped her brain would start functioning along with it since Elle had the mysterious power of stupefying her.

Claire pressed a familiar order of buttons and within a moment Rene was on the line. "You called me?"

"You did not answer right away. Is everything all right?" Rene asked with genuine concern painting his voice. Claire was touched and instantly forgave the interruption.

"No, it's fine. Everything's fine. You know Elle," Claire said as she shoved her hands in pockets.

"Yes, I do," Rene said. He was silent for a moment and Claire had a strange feeling he knew Claire too and knew what they were just up to and it sent a weird feeling up her spine and a tightening to her muscles. Just as she was about to break the awkward pause, Rene beat her to it.

"I was just concerned. Gretchen was asking after you and I just wanted to make sure all was well," Rene said. It was an innocent statement but there was still an underlying implication that he at the very least suspected what they were up to. She did not know if he was trying to send her the same message he sent earlier but she did feel that point.

"Yes, all is well," Claire confirmed.

"Very well. I assume you will be staying there for the night. Be back before dawn. Bring Elle with you. Good night," Rene said and before Claire could respond the call was ended.

Claire took a moment to look at the phone before she ended it on her own end. Claire opened the door and gazed in without looking at Elle. 'Be professional,' she thought to herself over and over despite how hard it was hard to be professional with Elle who could always push her buttons. She had to try.

"I'm going to sleep outside tonight, okay? I'll be here. I'll just be watching from outside. You're safe with me," Claire said.

Elle was silent for a moment and Claire heard the rustling of sheets before Elle uttered a simple, "Okay."

"Okay," Claire said quietly as something began to crumble inside of her because Elle actually did sound okay with Claire's suggestion. Claire closed the door and slid down it, trying unsuccessfully to find a comfortable position. As Claire eyes fluttered closed, she was unable to see a person fly past the hallway window.

Everything was formulaic the next morning. Claire wondered if her moment with Elle was all a dream. It was not like she could feel any pain and her life was far from what most people considered normal. How could she tell the difference between dream and reality really?

However, it was almost too calm the next morning. The girls barely said two words to each other from the moment the woke up until they were almost back to the mansion. When Elle finally did speak Claire wished she had not.

"So, do I need to buy Gretchen something?" Elle asked.

Claire finally turned her head in Elle's direction. She gnawed her lip thoughtfully before asking, "What?"

"I watched a lot of movies when people cheated on who they were with they bought them something. Since Gretchen is my girlfriend now, shouldn't I buy her something?" Elle asked without a hint of irony.

This stumped Claire even more as she came to the realization that Elle was being silent all morning because she was thinking this subject over before she ever voiced it. Claire did not know if she should point out that Gretchen had enough money to buy anything her heart desires. Or if she should mention that if anyone was cheating on Gretchen it was her. She then realized that perhaps they were both equally culpable for cheating on Gretchen and they were cheating with each other.

Finally she said, "You're her fake girlfriend so I don't think it matters."

Elle seemed satisfied with that response as a smile crossed her face again. It had been an hour and a half since her last unintentional electrical outburst and if Elle was centering all her worries on how to nonviolently handle Gretchen Claire supposed it was good day for them.

Claire folded her hands together and thought about how to approach the next subject without unintentionally egging Elle on to do the opposite of what she was about to say. She finally decided to bite the bullet.

"Just to be on the safe side, I wanted to ask you not to say anything about what happened last night in front of Gretchen, seeing as she is your girlfriend and my boss," Claire pleaded.

Elle instantly frowned and looked at Claire as if she wanted to give her a shove. "Oh, what happened last night, Claire?"

"You know what happened," Claire said.

"Yeah, I do but apparently you think I'm an idiot who might not know," Elle snapped with her eyes trained on Claire.

Claire could not handle the intensity of Elle's gaze as she walked but they needed to be back before dawn and she could not look away. "Look, I don't think you're an idiot. You're smarter than me in a lot of ways."

"Really?" Elle asked.

Claire smiled. "Really. It's just that if anyone found out about us it could be bad like..."

"The end of the world?" A voice asked.

Claire spun her face forward so she could see the figure standing right next to the Berg mansion. She froze in shock. It was Elle that moved first.

"You?" Elle asked.

Claire spoke with her voice thick with emotion for someone she had not seen in years. "Zach?"


	15. Chapter 15

Title: "The Road Not Taken"

Rating: PG-13 probably.

Pairings: Claire/Elle, Claire/Gretchen

Summary: When Claire goes back in time to save Elle, her relationship with Gretchen is threatened.

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show "Heroes."

Note: Takes place after "Brave New World." The past takes place after "The Butterfly Effect." Thank you Lied and She-Hulk from the BAM Board.

Chapter 15

"Zach?" Claire repeated as she took a few cautious steps toward him. She was scared to believe he was real. His hair was a little shorter but still spiky and his eyes were still the same and that smile he wore was trademark Zach. It had to be him. She ran forward and leapt into his arms.

He wrapped his arms around her, his warm blue sweatshirt comfortable and familiar. He laughed at her behavior, his voice a touch deeper than she remembered but completely welcomed.

Claire pulled away and looked at his face and the small amount of stubble that was still there. "I can't believe it. I can't believe it's you."

"I think I electrocuted you once," Elle said from behind Claire. The reunited friends pulled their attention away from each other to focus on Elle with matching perplexed faces.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I electrocuted you." Elle's forehead was scrunched full of little lines and her eyes were narrowed on him. She tilted her head and leaned forward for a closer look at him, obviously giving this matter a lot of thought. "Yes, I sort of remember this. You were Claire's little gay friend from school in Odessa. I electrocuted you until you were writhing on the floor."

Claire turned to Zach with a concerned glance as she waited for Elle's suspicion to be confirmed. Zach was even more confused than he was before. "Um, you never electrocuted me."

"Ah," Elle said with a sheepish grin as she took a step back. "Awkward."

It was now Zach's turn to scrutinize Elle's features before he said, "Weren't you in a class that I had with Claire in high school?"

"No," Elle said quickly as she emphatically began shaking her head nonstop. "No, that wasn't me."

Zach shook his head as well. "No, it was you. I remember. You used to draw little pictures of you murdering Claire and you followed us home from school sometimes."

Claire whipped her head back towards Elle, annoyance and disbelief coloring her features. She was thinking of naming this facial expression "the Elle." Elle did not look pleased by this turn of events.

"No, that was not me. I guess we both have familiar faces and I will take mine inside," Elle said as she ran past them into the house.

Zach and Claire shared amused grins as she disappeared from sight. Claire looked around at the stretches of empty white beach and the sky that was just lighting up with ribbons of color. It seemed like they were alone but how long had it taken her and Elle (two trained agents) to notice Zach right in front of them? She could see what Rene meant about her actions compromising the mission.

"Let's get inside," Claire said as she tugged on his arm. She covered the key panel as she typed the code in. She trusted Zach but it never hurt to take precautions. At the small green bulb that went off, she pushed the door open and pulled Zach in quickly behind her before quietly and gently shutting the door behind her.

She pulled him down a different hallway than she was used to but she knew what was there. Was she actually starting to adjust to this crazy situation she was stuck in?

She led Zach into Rene's room, an identical image of her own. Rene stood facing Elle who was bouncing on his bed and immediately stopped when Claire entered with Zach.

"Ugh, that guy is stalking me. Get him Rene," Elle ordered with an index finger pointed straight at Zach. It did not seem that Elle actually expected Rene to attack. She just wanted to observe what he would do next.

Rene calmly turned his head in the newcomer's direction but did not change his stance. "Hello Zachary. What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was about to find that out after I made sure he wasn't a shape shifter." Claire took a moment to bob her head in between Rene and Zach who did not revert into some other form. Satisfied, Claire continued. "Guess not. We'll talk in my room."

Claire began to drag Zach back out of Rene's room. Zach waved at Rene and Elle as he was pulled away. "Nice meeting you," Zach whispered.

Claire closed the door behind them, not looking forward to finding out what Rene felt about her bringing yet another person into the house, especially when they had no idea how he got there. Claire tiptoed her way to her room and she could hear Zach attempting do to the same but all that resulted in was hearing the scuffing of his shoes against the hardwood floors. She thought about reprimanding him but she was really happy to see him and she did not want to add voices to the list of things that might be overheard by other members of the house.

Soon enough they made it to Claire's room. She locked the door behind them and let out a sigh of relief. Finally, some peace.

Now, the real question. What is a more pressing matter? A shower or finding out what the hell is going on? She already hugged him and they've been in close proximity since he showed up but on the other hand what has finding the truth done for anyone lately?

"I'll be right back. Can you stay put?" Claire asked with her most angelic expression.

Claire and Zach shared a laugh as he shrugged. "Yeah, that's cool."

"Great," Claire brightly as she clasped her hands together. "Have a seat anywhere you like? Or stand. Whatever. Just don't leave the room."

"I got it," Zach smiled as he stepped more into the room and ran his hand over a night stand, trying to get a feel for the place.

Claire quickly grabbed a change of clothes and a towel and headed to the bathroom. Claire got inside and took the quickest shower known to man or at least attempted to. It was a new record for her.

As she changed into uniform she thought about how Zach was yet another complication. He was yet another person to protect. He was another person whose life she might ruin. He was another person with the ability to make things worse. But she could not be pessimistic any longer. She might not survive the mission if she was.

Claire left the bathroom and found Zach sitting on her bed, drumming his fingertips on his legs. Claire had not noticed how empty the room was until now.

She smiled as he noticed her and took a seat next to him on the bed. "So..."

"What am I doing here?" Zach offered to finish her question.

Claire shook her head no. It was not all she wanted to know about the last few years. She took a moment to think of another question she could ask him. Finally, she settled on one. "So, what are you doing here?"

"Hiro Nakamura dropped us off to find an Issac Mendez painting. He could paint the future," Zach said with a wave of his hand as he looked away from her.

Claire pulled back from him at that moment. She never saw that coming. "You're from the future- the present- the- what?"

Zach scratched behind his ear where a phoenix tattoo currently resided. "Um, sorry. Time traveling is weird. The last thing I remember from the present I was in was watching a news report on my tv about Gretchen's death and how you left her there after she was shot. Sorry about that by the way. My sincerest condolences."

Claire took a moment to stare at her shoes and wondered if it would freak Zach out if she started hyperventilating. She did not give Zach's sudden appearance a lot of thought in the short time since she saw him but it never crossed her mind that he could be from the future or be on a mission or know Gretchen.

"Wait, you know Gretchen?" Claire asked as she returned from her reverie to find Zach's arm supportive around her shoulders and a concerned look on his face.

"Um, kind of. Not well. I met her when I ran into your brother at the NSASS building," Zach explained. Claire nodded in understanding.

NSASS also known as Non Specials Allied in Support of Specials was one of the biggest groups in support of the minority known as "specials" or evolves or persons with abilities or extra ordinaries. In other circles "specials" were known as freaks or abominations or monsters or soon to be murdered. NSASS worked to help protect the rights of everyone with abilities and helped integrate those abilities into society. Some NSASS members became agents in the vein of one of us, one of them.

Lyle was a public relations intern at NSASS. Gretchen wanted to be an agent herself and interacting with the people but Claire always felt it was too dangerous. It never hurt so much for Claire to be proven right.

"She seemed really nice," Zach added, still eager to comfort the girl lost in her own thoughts.

Claire shook her head as she tried to shake herself out of it. "Yeah, she was. She is."

Zach followed Claire's eyes to the door of Claire's room and he got the idea. He dropped his arm from around her shoulders. "Wait, you found her? She's here? Elle and Gretchen are both here? What do you have going on?"

"Nothing pervy," Claire insisted to Zach's disbelieving face. "Not really anyway. It's just the mission. How did you end up here at the same time? I thought someone would have told me or Rene. Where's your back up anyway? I know you're not here alone."

"Yeah, I'm not here alone. Don't worry. Little gay geek boy isn't the muscle," Zach teased.

Claire bumped shoulders with him. "I didn't mean it like that."

Zach nodded. "Yeah, I know. They're around. We left after you did and we were actually placed a few months back in London. We didn't have any luck finding the thing we were looking for so we came to this carnival we heard about. There's a woman there that we heard could reveal desires. We thought locating her could help locate the information we desired."

He was looking for Lydia, Claire realized. She would help him but she doubted the carnival was even still on the island. A carnival accident might attract press which would attract people and Joseph's goal in life was to keep people from Samuel. It had already been a couple of days. They had to be gone.

"Sorry. I don't think they're here anymore," Claire said, though she was not that sorry. She did not want anyone getting to Elle or herself.

"I know. We met them already as they were getting out of dodge. Said a couple of blonde girls fell off the ferris wheel but were gone before anyone could find a body. I tracked you down," Zach said.

A smile spread across Claire's face. "I'm impressed with your tracker skills. Look at you, all super agent. I knew you'd be doing good things."

Zach was silent at that, a far away look gracing his eyes. Claire finally noticed how silent he was being when the door handle started jiggling.

Claire and Zach exchanged a look as they sprung from the bed and briskly walked to the door. Zach stood behind Claire as she opened it to reveal Gretchen and Elle standing arm in arm. Elle immediately peaked into the room and spotted Zach. Gretchen just looked surprised.

"Can I help you?" Claire asked as Gretchen's eyes became trained on Zach who wore a bashful smile and offered a wave.

"Um," Gretchen said as she uncomfortably cleared her throat. "I just wanted to make sure you still worked here. I only see you from time to time when you're with Elle or... this guy who is in your room for some reason."

"Zach," he said as he stepped forward and extended a hand to Gretchen. "Claire's gay best friend."

Gretchen just stared at his outstretched offering until Claire hastily chimed in, "we're not that close."

Gretchen relaxed and let a cautious smile take over her features as she took Zach's hand and shook it. "Wow, Elle and now Zach. What do you got going here, Claire?"

"That's what I just said," Zach chimed in as he got a glare from Claire.

"And he doesn't know me and I don't know him," Elle added as she tugged on Gretchen's arm for attention. "If he says anything else he's lying."

"It's very early in the morning for all this," Gretchen said with tired eyes. Elle kept a vice grip on her arm, giving flirtatious eyes to Claire and checking out Gretchen's exposed skin with a dreamy look in her eyes which Claire sensed was more about something to use her power on than attraction.

This was far from the most uncomfortable conversation Claire had ever been a part of but it still made her tired. Having Rene in proximity made her age and feel pain. It also made her completely and utterly exhausted.

"Agreed," Claire practically sighed out with a yawn. Claire rested her head on the side of the door and looked to Gretchen. "You should go to bed."

"With me?" Elle asked, pointing to herself.

Claire began to shake her head with as much force as she possibly could. "No, no, a thousand times no. I can't explain how much I don't want that to happen because the lack of a good nights sleep has made me all loopy."

Claire opened her mouth to say something else but no sound came out. She simply smiled as she saw Rene appear by her door. "Hello."

"I was just leaving," Zach said quickly at the sight of Rene. He squeezed his body in between Elle and Gretchen to escape the door threshold and ran past Rene towards the nearest exit.

"I was just going to make breakfast," Rene said though he did not move from his position that gave him a view of Zach's escape and the three girls next to him.

Gretchen seemed satisfied with order being restored as she gave Rene, Claire and Elle each a smile, all of which were of a different nature. "I guess I was just heading to the bed."

"And I was just about to go through your things," Elle chirped as she dragged Gretchen by the arm back towards her room. Elle looked to Rene and mostly Claire for approval but Gretchen made no argument against Elle's plan so neither did Claire or Rene.

Suddenly, it was just Rene and Claire again. Claire let a few minutes pass to let silence arise between them for a bit of peace. Claire took in a breath and stepped toward Rene. "And I suppose it's time for me to get back to work."


	16. Chapter 16

Sorry, I just realized these chapters have not been formatting correctly. If this is too confusing to read you can find my livejournal or .

Chapter 16

Zach ran a hand over his hair as he stormed across the sand. He looked behind him and felt air fill his lungs again upon realizing Rene did not follow him out. His footsteps slowed and softened until he was dragging his feet across the sand of the beach. They felt like anchors on dry land ever since he left the safety of the fortress that was the Berg mansion.

He may not have been even remotely safe there but he felt safer inside the mansion of black tinted windows than out in the open.

His instincts were proven right as an unseen figure zoomed into him and carried him away.

"Just do downward facing dog, Claire. It's so basic. I swear you'll be addicted to it," Joanna said from her own position in downward facing dog before moving into lotus pose.

Claire looked on with muted interest. Joanna was in ridiculously good shape but Claire did not know how she could talk when she was in positions like that. Then again she started conversations with people while she snapped her bones into place so who was she to judge.

"I think I'll pass this time, Mrs. Berg," Claire said as she gathered scattered laundry off the floor, pausing when she stumbled upon Joanna's bra and one of Bernie's t-shirts. She so did not want to know what they did in the yoga room.

"I'll just take these downstairs," Claire said as she quickly bundled up all the clothes in her arms, trying desperately to ignore what items she was picking up as she made her escape.

Joanna just nodded or attempted to as she went into pyramid pose. "Okay, just come back if you change your mind."

Claire nodded as she briskly walked out of the room and past all the open rooms of the second floor full of art and work out equipment and one with a trampoline. Claire ran past one room in particular and stepped back to make sure her eyes were not deceiving her.

As she walked backwards and turned her head she found that her eyes were indeed honest with her as she spotted Bernie sitting in a mesh desk chair next to a laptop and Elle standing right behind him, hovering. She could have sworn she saw Elle's eyes actually light up when she spotted her.

"Hi," Claire said without moving an inch.

Bernie looked at her before moving his eyes back to the computer screen. "Hello Claire."

Elle stepped toward her instead, lingering next to the door with a conspiratorial smile. "Hello maid. Do you remember how Gretchen said that I could use all her credit cards to buy whatever I want?"

Uh oh. "Yeah," Claire said as she stretched the word out worriedly. She was technically here to protect Elle first and foremost, even if she was protecting her from yuppies. It was actually more likely she was protecting Bernie from Elle but still.

"Well, Gretchen forgot to run this past her dad," Elle said as she held her hands out and made an adorable face of fake shock. "So, he is going through all the purchases I've made this morning and is cancelling, well, most of them."

Claire smiled at what seemed to be a small crisis. She leaned toward Elle who leaned in her face as well. "I guess that's a quick fix, right?"

Elle shrugged her shoulders back and forth before admitting, "it's a 15,000 dollar fix."

Claire felt the smile slide off her face for a moment but she quickly recovered. It was not the worst thing in the world. Elle was being entertaining and doing it safely... as far as she knew. However, she had not seen Gretchen for awhile.

"Okay, well, I'll just have to take these to the laundry room," Claire said as she walked into the hallway. Elle followed her.

"Where are you going?" Elle hissed at Claire's retreating form.

"Laundry room," Claire called over her shoulder. She stopped walking at Elle's expectant face. She turned to look at her.

"Are you coming back? Should I follow you?" Elle asked as if these were questions that Claire should have already thought out before ever interrupting the credit card session.

"Just stay there, sweetie. You'll be fine," Claire said. Elle nodded with tentative acceptance and with a few more glances at Claire she reentered Bernie's office. Once she was out of sight, Claire waited a few more moments to makes sure she would not come back out before dropping the armful of clothes she had into the nearest room and running down the stairs.

Claire sprinted down many halls and finally came to a stop in front of Gretchen's closed bedroom. She knocked lightly as she opened the door and found Gretchen lying on her bed watching the Discovery channel. She immediately grabbed the remote and turned it off as Claire entered.

"Hey," Gretchen said as she began to sit up.

"Hey," Claire replied as she took a seat on the bed, facing Gretchen. Gretchen was not freaking out or clinging to Elle. She showed no sign of burns. It looked like the cat was still in the bag.

Gretchen laid back down and rolled over on her side so she was facing Claire. "What are you doing here?"

Claire thought for a moment and felt if there was a degree in giving partial truths the Bennet family would have probably earned their PHD's at this point. "I just wanted to make sure my friend Elle was treating you right. She is right?"

Gretchen gave Claire a serious look for a moment before nodding her head. "Yeah, she is. I guess. I mean I don't know her that well which is odd for a girlfriend but..."

"So, things are good then. Everything's fine?" Claire interrupted quickly, not really wanting to hear about her two loves as a couple. She hoped Gretchen would sense this about her but Gretchen did not have a whole lot of experience with social interactions.

"Yeah, I guess if I had to choose a word to describe what was going on, fine would have to be the word for it. Not awful, not wonderful but fine for now," Gretchen said with her lips puckered as she gave this more thought.

Claire could not believe what she was hearing. All the craziness and this was what was going fine. Just fine? What the hell did that mean? "Fine? Just fine? Are you sure? She's hot and you're adorable despite the weird faces you make or... maybe because of them. You're both weirdly loyal, have trouble interacting appropriately with people, both funny in radically different ways. You both have weirdly specific areas of intelligence..."

Claire trailed off before she could accidentally let it slip that they both made her equally crazy in multiple ways. Gretchen frowned at Claire's ramble and Claire realized she had gotten too worked up and detailed in her opinions.

Gretchen sat up and eyed Claire suspiciously. "You know me better than I know you. And you know me better than Elle does and you know Elle better than I do. You also know Rene better than I do but that at least I pretend to understand."

Claire shifted and twisted in her seat on the bed, something she immediately regretted as she remembered that she would be making this bed again later and Elle and Gretchen better not be inside it together at that time- or ever. "It's maid intuition."

Gretchen raised an eyebrow, "Maid intuition?"

"Yes, maid intuition," Claire said with a nod though even she was not believing this lie.

Gretchen leaned forward causing Claire to unconsciously lean towards Gretchen as well. "With maids of the past, maid's intuition was usually code for banging someone in the house."

This caused Claire to jerk back. She was not actually having sex with Gretchen or Elle but she was getting her information through sort of personal means. Claire hoped Gretchen would assume Claire's reaction was all about her. She apparently did as she began to laugh.

"I'm just kidding. It's too soon. I'm sorry," Gretchen said with a blush at her faux pas. Claire intertwined her fingers with Gretchen's as comfort but it ended up being more as Claire felt her temperature rise and her palms get sweaty. She still did not pull her hand away.

"It's okay," Claire said as she tried not to feel a jerk or a liar for the next thing she was going to say. "I'm just worried about you."

She was worried about Gretchen but it was not all she was worried about. Elle and Gretchen being together was necessary for Elle's safety. Elle not hurting Gretchen was necessary for the safety of them all.

"Elle is great. She's all the things you said. At least I assume so. I know I probably saw this gorgeous woman and tried to bring her home and Elle maybe had low standards and that's how we ended up together but I don't feel what I'm supposed to feel. I don't feel how I feel with..." Gretchen offered a flirtatious smile and Claire felt sick with her manipulations with the people in her life. Claire was never that good of an actress and her feelings began to show so much that even Gretchen could not ignore them despite her lack of knowledge about Claire's troubles.

"Hey, are you okay? Based on how you've been acting since you arrived here you're either dramatically emotionally unstable which is not exactly a deal breaker for me to be perfectly honest or you're going through a lot. I mean you're going out at all hours, you're exhausted without doing any work and you're bringing people into my house. Is this about the murder in Odessa?" Gretchen asked.

Claire looked into Gretchen's imploring eyes. It was so easy to lie and rationalize. It was so easy to make Gretchen believe she was just a poor victim of a serial killer and she was getting helped through it by all her mysterious connections to mysterious people. To some extent that was even true.

However, she was better than the story. She was no victim. She was a survivor and a leader and no one expected anything less from her. She did not expect any less of herself and she refused to be someone who manipulated her loved ones for their own safety. Her father did that and she resented the hell out of him for it. She did so for many years despite his tendency to be right and her tendency to be wrong. She wanted to be honest.

"Yeah, it's about what happened in Odessa." Claire was a coward. At least she felt like one. Maybe it was just the company training. She wished she could call her dad.

Gretchen blanched at Claire's news. "Is it dangerous? Dangerous enough that I should I tell my dad? My little sister is here. Is she safe?"

Claire wrapped her arms around Gretchen to instantly calm the jittering body beside her. "No, no. I would never let you stay here if I thought you could get hurt. You went out on a limb for me falsifying that background report-"

Claire stopped mid sentence as Gretchen jumped in her arms. "I forgot all about that! Will people come to my house and kill me for helping to hide you?"

"No, no. No one is going to hurt you I swear," Claire assured her as she pulled the girl even closer until they were cheek to cheek.

"Really?" Gretchen asked.

"I promise," Claire said and she meant it. "Everyone around me is just supporting me and covering my tracks. I need them but you don't need to be scared and you can stop shaking now."

Gretchen coughed for a minute before fake laughing. "Oh, I didn't know you noticed that. Don't judge me for that. Friends don't judge."

Claire laughed. She actually did not really notice Gretchen's shaking until she had gotten so close that their faces and bodies were pressed against each other. The thoughts it was putting into Claire's head-

"Well, are you guys some friends," Elle snapped from outside the room, also snapping Claire out of her train of thought. A smile framed Elle's face but Claire could tell from the look in her eyes that she was anything but pleased.

Zach let out a grunt as he hit the sand and rolled across it a few times. He thought he might have a bruised rib but did not show it. He would not give the other man the satisfaction of seeing him writhe in pain so instead he laughed.

"Something funny to you?" West asked.

"Yeah," Zach said as he struggled to get up without wincing to much. He shook the sand out of his clothes as he walked across the beach away from the man who somehow still had perfect hair despite the troublesome flight. Zach knew the distance would not do him much good as West could fly to him and sweep him off his feet again but it was the little things in life that mattered.

"You know West if you want to ask me out, there are better ways," Zach teased.

West rolled his eyes and produced some Kleenex from his pocket and tossed the tissue packet at Zach who caught it. "You're not my type. P.S. your nose is bleeding."

Zach took the tissues from the packet and pressed it to his nose, not even caring if it was swelling. "Ah right. Well, I hope you're not still hung up on Claire because she's got two people holding out for her already."

"Really?" West asked as he kicked the sand with his sandals. Damn, Zach would have to remember to buy some of those soon. He needed to be prepared for everything.

"Yeah. Claire is more than a little distracted by her love life which means everything will be going to plan as long as you keep your pretty little face out of it," Zach said as he looked around and tried to spot their tent. It appeared that West had dropped him in a vast emptiness. It was time to start walking.

West was instantly alongside him, walking with his hands in his pockets. He was deep in thought. "You know, if distractions are your plan for Claire maybe I should go over and see her for myself."

Zach shook his head. "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Why?" West asked immediately.

"Because I don't think you're her type anymore," Zach said without breaking his pace.

West roughly grabbed Zach's arm and spun him around to face him. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Zach tried to yank his arm out of West's grasp unsuccessfully. He shoved the other man before pulling away and finally freed himself though he stumbled a bit. "Claire likes people who like her and care about her and make her feel like less of a freak."

"I am all of those things," West reasoned.

"Well, it won't look that way when she finds out that you worked to get Elle and Gretchen killed and succeeded both times," Zach yelled in West's face. West instinctively swung his arm and hit Zach in the nose. It did little to sober Zach from his protective anger.

West pointed a finger in Zach's face, full of rage at Zach's accusatory tone and full of self loathing even as he defended himself. "Sylar killed Elle."

"Just like you planned but he was not the one who pulled the trigger that killed Gretchen. That was all you," Zach said before he was cut off by a fist that crashed into his face once again.

Zach shoved back this time. He was determined not to let the taller if scrawny man just pummel him. West shoved him back, knocking the air out of his chest. Full of survival instincts and anger Zach shoved him once again. When West retaliated Zach was so full of adrenaline he barely felt a thing. The shoving match escalated until West finally knocked Zach into the sand and pounced on him, ready to punch him again.

Zach twisted and squirmed in the sand to bob and weave out of the way of West's punches. He held his arms arm against West's shirt to keep him away and off balance as he continued to try to shove him off. They rolled in the sand as they continued to wrestle and all Zach could think was how ridiculous of a situation he was in. When the pair rolled across the sand again, Zach rolled himself away and stood up as quickly as he could as he tried to straighten out his clothes and shake away the sand that peppered his hair.

"Stop fighting me. We're on the same side," Zach growled.

West quickly got to his feet with the elegance of a tiger and stepped forward until his face was just an inch from Zach's. "Then start acting like it."

Zach's eyes traveled the other man's face for a moment and thought if West were some other person, some less annoying and less aggravating person, Zach might be tempted to kiss him. He bared no urge of that kind at the moment.

"I am. I have a plan now. Just leave it to me. We're teammates remember?" Zach asked rhetorically because how could either of them forget. He shook out more sand from his shirt and walked away, leaving West alone on the beach.

When he got out of earshot West found the courage to voice his own opinion. "Sorry, I can't do that Zach. I'm working on a plan of my own."

Gretchen jumped out of Claire's arms so quickly that she knocked her head against her own wooden headboard. Claire winced sympathetically as Gretchen slumped against a pillow with a wave at Elle. Claire reached for her again when she heard Elle sigh and leave the room.

Gretchen sat up with a concerned look as her face started to redden with a bruise. "I should handle that."

"No, I should," Claire said quickly. Gretchen's eyes bulged at the statement and Claire briefly wondered if wiping Gretchen's mind at the end of this mission would be the nicest thing that Claire would do for her.

"I just mean that a girl needs a friend at a time like this. If you try to explain she might take it in a slightly irrational way," Claire said. Gretchen seemed to think about it because she did not have many friends and did not have the procedure for this sort of thing.

"I guess that sounds accurate," Gretchen said with a nod.

Claire stood up and kissed the place where Gretchen hit her head without thinking about it as she was used to soothing her girlfriend's injuries that way. Gretchen leaned into the touch at first then backed away when she realized once again that she was taken. Claire sighed at their twisted situation before going off in search of Elle.

Claire made it out into the hallway where Elle was waiting. When Elle saw her she immediately turned on her heel and began heading farther away toward Rene's room. Claire indulged the chase and soon they ended up in the room that the Haitian was currently absent from.

"You know I never liked immortals," Elle said as soon as Claire shut the door. Elle was still too loud with the word immortal for her taste but now did not seem to be a time to give Elle orders. "I always said fun toys but I would not like to hang out with one if I had a choice. I did. I said that. You haven't known me a long time but I said it."

"I believe you," Claire said. She figured it was the only safe answer in the conversation. From the stories she heard about Adam Monroe and knowing her own behavior she figured Elle's assessment was fair.

"And now this," Elle said with her arms tightly at her side and electricity crackling in her palms as she paced the room. Elle was always full of energy but not really the type to tensely pace so Claire knew this had to be a particularly upsetting stressor and Claire had a sneaking feeling that she was that stressor.

Elle finally turned to face Claire. Her blue eyes shocking guilt into the younger woman who could tell that Elle was searching for answers on what was happening and how to react in a situation she was not familiar with. Electricity continued to sizzle in Elle's palms which were currently hidden behind her back and Claire was not sure if she was imagining the smell of burnt flesh that lingered in her nostrils.

"You're kissing me one night and then only a couple hours later you're snuggling up with my girlfriend," Elle said.

"Fake girlfriend," Claire was quick to correct no matter what a stupid idea it was. She did not want to upset Elle. She cared about her. She loved kissing her and being consumed in the heat of their interactions until it burned up all the complications and doubt Claire carried inside.

It was getting harder and harder to let go and not be selfish with the two women in her life though her increasing selfish behavior was causing destruction for all three.

Elle closed her eyes for a moment in an attempt to contain the emotion within them. "It doesn't matter what the distinction is."

"It sort of does," Claire said and honestly wondered why she kept doing this to the other girl and herself.

Elle surprised her by not having a totally bad reaction to the words as the wheels began turning in her head. "Okay, fine. The distinction matters but why does it matter? Does it matter because you don't want to see me with someone else or because you don't want to see Gretchen with someone else?"

Claire knew better than to walk into the trap this question presented. Well, it was only a trap if she answered honestly. "What makes you think that Gretchen matters to me?"

"Because your friend Zach might not have remembered me too well but he seemed to recognize Gretchen well and good. How could he know her if not through you? I mean you were dating her, right? That has to mean something," Elle said.

Claire was shocked to say the least. Elle was picking up more than Claire thought she would. Elle was picking up even more than Claire was. Claire felt another layer of guilt. Elle was ultimately an agent and Claire felt like she was failing her and everyone else by not being up to the standards she set as an one.

Well, as her father always seemed to think, it was nothing a little half truth could not fix. "They know each other from NSASS."

Elle instantly frowned with a defensive look in her eyes as if Claire was messing with her. "They know each other from Secret NASA?"

Claire took a moment to think it over before shaking her head. "No, that's SNASA. They know each other from NSASS and they don't really know each other since he's from the future."

Elle went slack jawed at this development as she took several steps toward Claire and Claire found herself involuntarily inhaling the scent of the older girl's shampoo. "He's from the future? He's probably one of those Lazarus guys and you brought him inside this house to kill me."

"No," Claire said instantly as she put some distance between herself and Elle.

Elle was not about to let her off that easy as she grabbed her by both shoulders and spun her around until they were facing each other once again. "What do you mean no?"

"It's Zach, I know him," Claire said stubbornly.

Elle rolled her eyes at the girl's obvious bias. "You know the gay, AV kid, social pariah that you had social studies with back in your small little hometown. This is a guy that time travels to where we conveniently are."

"Oh my god, you were in our class in high school," Claire bit out as she pointed an accusing finger in Elle's face.

"That's the part of what I said that you listened to?" Elle asked.

Claire pinched the bridge of her nose as she tried to stop this conversation before it went too far off the rails. "I trust Zach."

"Like you trust me? Like you'll put my safety first before everyone because you're supposed to and you want to?" Elle asked.

Claire nodded as she surrendered herself to the line of questioning. "Yes and yes."

"More than anyone?" Elle asked.

"Yes," Claire confirmed with another nod.

With not even a second passing, Elle fired off her last question. "More than Gretchen?"

"That's not fair," Claire said before she could stop herself.

Claire could swear she saw a lightning storm in Elle's eyes before they suddenly hardened to her. Elle seemed to get the message that Claire was trying so desperately to hide. With one sad look that nearly broke Claire to pieces Elle said, "You're right. It's really not fair."

As Claire watched the blonde storm out a sense of futility overcame her and she found herself oddly struck with words that Hiro once shared with her.

When Hiro told her tales of the first immortal he met, the one he used to idolize, he told the whole story in extreme detail, even the details that painted him in a bad light. A detail that struck Claire in the story was the immortal's discovery of his abilities. The words he said upon the realization that whatever was happening to him was not a trick never left Hiro and never left Claire once she heard them.

She did not feel much of a connection to some immortal born about 400 years ago besides the obvious but she felt she did as she uttered the words he once uttered himself upon realizing his own cruel fate. "Lazarus risen. You've cursed me."


	17. Chapter 17

Sorry again that this fic was not formatting correctly all this time. Once again, if you want to read the actual versions of my fic, you can go to my livejournal which features my same penname or you can go to which has its own heroes section. A good place for femslash fic.

Chapter 17

"_And... I wouldn't say I would have kissed her. Not right away. I mean we could not stand each other and the next time I saw her she shot me- accidently, she was aiming for my dad but still. I mean we were enemies and argued all the time but there was something there. A connection. I felt it and I think she could feel it too and I just always wondered what would have happened if she didn't die or if Peter didn't fall out of that window or if she had come with me and Peter when we left Pinehearst instead of going inside. Maybe we might have ended up together for even a little while. Like together together," Claire rambled as she had been for the better part of the night as she had some nights before about Elle._

_Meeting Gretchen... well, actually more getting kissed by Gretchen had opened her eyes. It made Claire wonder about her past. She did not have a lot of dating experience. There was Brody who she did not count on the basis of he was a serial rapist that she tried to banish from her memory as she was removed from his. Zach was nicer than anyone she knew outside of her mom and he was loyal and she felt like she liked him more than any of her friends so she thought it meant she liked him as more than a friend but it turned out she just did not like her friends and the feeling was disappointingly mutual. Zach was a great best friend though. There was West who made her feel less alone and he was the one person she could share secrets with at a certain point in her life. Alex made her feel like a hero, he depended on her and trusted her judgement to save his life. No one in her life had trusted her like that and it was very attractive. He was pretty nice._

_So, what did that mean for her? She seemed to like guys. However, there was the fact that she gave up many friends to hang out with girls like Jackie and the cheerleaders. Claire was not particularly popular herself when high school began. A lot of the time she liked to sit at home and read. She was too dorky and clumsy and shy to be a cheerleader and was not a fan of a lot of the cheerleaders' personalities. She did not want to be unpopular but she was not much of a social climber so why did she want to hang out with the cheerleaders all the time... some other reason that was hard to think about. Another thing to think about was how when she joined cheerleading in Costa Verde, May was always there to provide an alibi for her absences with a soft smile and sideways glance at Claire's form that made the blonde warm and excited. Then there was Elle who she wanted with all of her heart to hate but who she could not help but like... a lot._

_Once Claire finally let herself be with Gretchen things finally started to add up for Claire. The feelings that she had for all these girls that seemed to grow with each experience. The crush on Elle that Claire was not aware of until it was too late. The words all flew out of Claire at nights in bed with Gretchen. Just the need to say them out loud to someone who could understand. Gretchen was encouraging at first but after awhile she became silent, so silent and would just let Claire talk almost to herself._

_Claire drew her eyes from their clasped hands to finally look at her girlfriend. The normally expressive girl just stared blankly at the ceiling, lazily blinking every couple seconds. She was either waiting for Claire to continue or lost in her own thoughts. Claire became worried she was scaring her girlfriend off with ghosts of the past._

_She scooted her body closer until she was resting her head on her girlfriend's pillow and against her shoulder. "But she's not here. You're the one that's here and I love you. I'm happy that you're here and we're good. I'm not living in the past."_

_Gretchen's eyes almost imperceptibly came back to life and a small smile crossed her face as she turned back to Claire and brushed her lips against the blonde's forehead. Relieved, Claire snuggled even closer and nuzzled her face against Gretchen's and stretched an arm around her body. Claire let her eyes close with contentment, thinking it was the end of the conversation._

_When Gretchen spoke her tone seemed pleasant but somewhat heavy with baggage that Claire could not name. "I'm glad you're not living in the past. It's not a great place to be."_

Indeed it was not.

Elle took Gretchen and barricaded them in the home movie theater so she could see "Jurassic Park" and "Star Wars" and other movies on the big screen that she missed seeing during her time in Company captivity or "employment" rather. Elle was obviously irritated but merely bit her lip and tried to be nice with Gretchen with a lifetime worth of learned self control.

Earlier and from her place of scrubbing the walls outside of Gretchen's room (not a job that should have taken that long or was even that necessary), Claire saw Elle and Gretchen sitting close and talking. Not just little witticisms but long talks and sometimes Gretchen would look on eagerly as Elle spoke and rub little circles on Elle's lower back. Elle was tense and unused to positive attention. She was barely aware of the normal and decent treatment she was getting.

It was ripping Claire's heart in two at the thought of the love and affection both girls were missing so much and she was not sure which position she was supposed to fill. Was she the one that Gretchen was supposed to be touching or was she the one who was supposed to be taking care of Elle? It felt wrong just to be out of the interaction at all. And since they went down to the basement theater, Claire got no view of them at all.

When did it become this hard to do her job? She spent days giving speeches and listening to crying mothers, walking the hallways of the hospital while pints and pints of blood were drawn from her arm. She spent nights helping St. Joan become a real life superhero and going on stakeouts and completing covert missions and no matter how much she hated it sometimes, no matter how exhausted she got, no matter how much she would love to escape her admittedly charmed life she just sucked it up because it was almost penance for all of her mistakes, including jumping off the ferris wheel.

Now, when she had the chance to do the most good, legitimately save a life and give up not one but two people she loves she cannot do it. She is unable. She is irresponsible. She is selfish.

She had no idea how doing her job got this hard when she was doing nothing but what she wanted to do. Maybe getting what she wanted was what got everyone in trouble in the first place.

Claire decided to bite the bullet and surrender to her need to spy on the couple that was not a real couple. Movie theaters needed to be cleaned all the time right? Claire opened the door and waited to see what sounds she could make out. She could always turn back if she heard her two favorite girls talking loudly at the screen instead of making any other noises.

Claire heard, "Don't screw around with me, Maverick." Well, that was the movie. Claire guessed "Top Gun." However she heard no noises that belonged to the girls. No voices. So, what was keeping their mouths occupied?

Claire quickly raced down the stairs, not bothering to avoid making noise in hopes of causing the girls to break apart if they were doing something really inappropriate though that could just goad Elle on.

When Claire finally entered the theater that was darkened except for the light from the projector that reached out to the screen, she found only one girl in the dark munching on popcorn. Claire carefully paced around the few rows of seats until she discovered it was indeed only Gretchen with her eyes fixed on the screen.

"Hey," Claire said as she walked into the aisle that Gretchen was occupying. With genuine curiosity and professional dedication, Claire decided to give her masochistic side a thrill by forming the question, "Where's your girlfriend?"

Gretchen raised her carton of popcorn in the air and prompted Claire to have some. Claire took the offered snack and took a seat next to Gretchen with her eyes still searching through the darkness for the missing blonde.

"Um, she didn't like the popcorn machine. She said it was too old fashioned so she went in search of microwave and instant popcorn," Gretchen said before she swivelled her head towards Claire. "I think she was just trying to get away from me."

Claire warned herself not to interpret that information until she had more facts. She waited patiently and was trying very hard not to seem overly concerned as she waited for Gretchen to continue speaking. She chanced a casual glance at Gretchen to find the other girl's eyes glued to Claire's exposed leg which was bouncing up and down with nervousness. Claire had learned to stop that. She had learned to hide all of her tells. She had learned to be objective and to be a good agent and to be a good spokesman for her kind. She was becoming unraveled. This trip to the past was making her regress.

"She just seems pretty irritated and stressed. I thought I should give her space," Gretchen said with a shrug but the immediate tone of her voice let Claire know she was actually worried if that was the right thing to do.

Claire took Gretchen's hand in both of hers and smiled softly. "I think you did the right thing."

Gretchen looked at her with a cautious smile. "Really?"

"Yeah. You... You're the perfect girlfriend. You're perfect," Claire said quietly as she was unable to meet Gretchen's eyes. "You know you won't have to deal with this much longer. Vacation will be over soon and you'll move on from Elle and meet someone who makes you forget all about her."

"Someone?" Gretchen probed as she tangled her fingers with Claire's.

Claire nodded, still not meeting Gretchen's eyes as she concealed a small smile. "Yeah, you'll think of someone. Some random special someone."

Gretchen squeezed Claire's hand before pulling away. "Lucky me."

Claire nodded with a sudden loss for words before she got up and began walking out of the theater. "I'll check on Elle. Dust something near her or something."

As Claire closed the door to the in home theater behind her she took a moment to ready her thoughts again and get back into a mission frame of mind. She owed everyone at the very least the attempt to be a stronger and more professional agent.

She strode down the hall with a renewed sense of purpose and focus on the mission. It made her senses more alert when she smelled smoke. She ran down the hallway as fast as she could without skidding and crashing into the wall. She finally came to a stop in front of the kitchen to find smoke coming out of the microwave and Elle waving a towel frantically at it.

"What happened?" Claire asked as she quickly went to Elle and checked her for injuries. She already feared the worst. She could not help it.

"My power," Elle gritted and she need not say anymore. Claire looked around for other members of the house and found the coast was clear or so it seemed.

"Did anyone see you?" Claire asked Elle. She wanted to ask if she was okay. She wanted to ask a lot of things but she was not sure Elle would believe her concern and at this point Claire could not blame her with her current behavior.

"No, I made sure. There was no one in the room or anywhere near here. I looked all over the place. No one saw it go boom. No one saw me go boom," Elle said with equal parts disappointment and humor.

"We'll tell everyone you put metal in the microwave," Claire said after a moment.

Elle let out a laugh at that statement and finally stopped waving her towel at the plumes of smoke. "You think they'll buy that?"

Claire looked Elle up and down with a raised eyebrow. "You are blonde."

"Pot meet kettle," Elle shot back and Claire thought it was nice they had a quiet moment to just enjoy each other's company again.

Claire decided to build on this luck by being productive. She walked to the phone and grabbed the phonebook which resided in the cabinet next to it. She flipped through the pages in search of information for where to get a replacement microwave as she relayed the plan to Elle. "We'll get this replaced as soon as possible. They probably won't charge you for it. They have money to spare."

"You know people get money like that by charging people for stuff like this," Elle said as she fanned the microwave a little more before she tried opening it. The door had partially melted and fell off.

Claire thought about mentioning that Elle's family money came entirely from her father turning any old thing into gold but father mentions rarely did anything for either girl's morale.

She opted to simply say, "Then we'll take care of it. In the mean time just be glad that it's over. You're fine and no one else is hurt. Thank God no one was around."

Little did Claire know that someone was around, someone who had indeed seen everything from his place hovering outside the window with binoculars. Through his research and missions he knew Elle's power was misfiring at this time. Not only was it misfiring but it was now misfiring in the place she was undercover. As Claire had been rising to prominence as a spokesman for the specials she had been passionately speaking about the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few. If Elle were to hurt someone with her power Claire would want to turn her away, making Elle vulnerable.

If Elle would not hurt someone on her own, West would find a way to do it himself.

'I will get her,' West thought as his jealous eyes graced Elle and Claire one last time before he flew away to the group's home base with a plan in mind.

Inside the house Elle was about to voice an opinion that Claire shared as well. Laying her palms flat on the counter and finally looking Claire in the eyes she said, "I don't know how long I can keep this up."

Claire could more than empathize but she did not want Elle to know that and feel unsafe so she just played dumb. "What do you mean?"

"Things aren't working with Gretchen. The void keeps getting bigger and bigger with us and I've only been here a couple days. What if she dumps me?" Elle asked.

Claire would be lying if she were to say she never thought about that possibility but it was not a main concern. With a reassuring smile, Claire mimicked Elle's posture and faced her. "She'd be crazy to do that. Trust me."

Elle smiled at the compliment before carefully broaching the next subject on her mind. "What if I hurt her?"

That was a main concern. Having Elle in the house put Gretchen and her whole family at risk but she just could not bare to have Elle out on her own in case of Elle getting injured. It was a dangerous position to be in and Claire hoped to never have to choose between the two girls.


	18. Chapter 18

Once again for proper formatting you can go to incandescentfire or livejournal. It may not make sense without proper formatting.

Chapter 18

Amanda Strazzulla was not sure how she ended up traveling through the night in this plot of West's. It was a long time coming she supposed. Their experiences made them who they were. It was the truth about everyone.

She was not sure whether to hate or love her mother for leaving her at her aunt's house as a baby. She tried to give her a normal life by not raising Amanda herself but all Amanda felt was that she was alone and a freak who did not fit in anywhere. It started with freak accidents that left her riddled with guilt. Destroying the trees and the birds and a dog. She tried to give her cat away for its own safety and ended up blowing up a car. She still thought she had everything under control though. Then she blew up her house. I mean who does that? Who has houses that explode? And she nearly killed her aunt in the process. Amanda could not live with herself if she hurt her loved ones so she ran with no plans of ever coming back.

It took quite the cast of characters before Amanda finally made it to the carnival where her mother resided. Peter Petrelli had an ability too and made her feel less alone. All that time she thought she was the only one and then he came along. He was totally her hero. Then Tracy Strauss came along and saved her from ending a life and gave her a ride to the carnival. There she met Gabriel Gray who encouraged her to connect with her mother. There was Samuel who was like a father to her in only a few days with his comfort and assurance. He made her feel like part of a family and normal and safe. And of course there was her real mother Lydia.

No sooner had she made a home there than Claire Bennet showed up with her girlfriend. Claire got all kinds of special treatment and attention from her mother and Samuel and everyone else. Only a few weeks later Claire started unraveling Amanda's whole life.

When one of Samuel's henchmen stalked Claire, Samuel made him stop. When one of Samuel's henchmen stalked Amanda, Amanda had to kill him to get him to stop. Amanda wondered if everything that happened after was punishment.

Amanda's mother was dead thanks to Claire. She remained dead thanks to Claire. Claire revealed that Samuel was an evil mastermind which caused the destruction of her family. Claire was Peter Petrelli's niece. Gabriel was Peter's comrade and they both helped stop Samuel which just happened to help Claire. Tracy was a friend of Claire's and became her new head of PR when Claire changed the entire world and made Amanda a pariah.

Claire had Amanda's background. She had everyone that ever meant anything to Amanda and she could swear they all loved Claire more. She had the future that Amanda could not have because Claire took it away with her thoughtless actions.

When Amanda had the chance to take the future in her hands, Claire's future, she could not walk away and that was why she was here.

Amanda knew a lot of people who were not what they seemed and treated her terribly. Elle seemed okay but history revealed that she was a heartless murderer. Claire protecting her made Amanda hate Claire all the more.

Still, she did not feel completely right about this. Amanda's crimes might seem just as bad as Elle's in the long run and she did not want someone hearing about her someday and taking matters into their own hands. She did not plan any of the blood on her hands. She just could not control her power at the time she was hurting everyone. She could not defend herself without losing control. Could Elle be innocent? She did not know who to believe.

Zach said things were right on track. West said they were not and that is why he needed her help for a secret plan. He needed her specifically.

The whole world wanted a piece of Claire Bennet. No one wanted Amanda. She had no family that would claim her. There was no one to mourn her if she was gone. No one wanted anything from her besides right in this moment with West. She really wanted to oblige. She wanted to be useful.

She also wanted to help because it was West. The other Lazarus members that she met were older than her by a lot. West and Zach were the closest she had to anything and it was pretty clear that Zach was about as straight as a question mark. It was not just that West was her only option. He was nice and handsome and weird and she did not feel like a freak with him. He had that moral ambiguity that kept him from judging her unless she crossed him or let him down. He believed in love and second chances. He was the only person who seemed to like her more than Claire even if he was just pretending.

Amanda was not ready trust him just yet or even be with him. She could not believe him all the way. So many people that she tried to believe only ended up turning into bad guys like Samuel and Caleb. She was not ready to trust like that again or take that leap but she continued to think about it for awhile. What would it mean if she did this for him?

West finally slowed in his flight when he came within fifty feet of the mansion. Of course Claire got to stay in a mansion with her friends and lover. They were probably having an orgy or feeding each other grapes or something.

She expected West to lower her down to the ground and let them land but he just stayed floating in the air with his hand securely around her waist and raised black binoculars to his eyes.

"Maybe we should do this another night or time," Amanda said unsurely.

West shook his head with a frown. "Nonsense. We don't have to do anything today. This is just research."

Amanda fiddled with the buttonhole of his shirt, still unsure about what they were doing and what West's intentions were. "Were not going to kill anyone right?"

"Of course not," West said instantly and she felt his grip loosen a bit on her for a moment causing her to wrap her arms around his neck tightly, worried he might drop her for dissension. "We're just gaining intelligence and planning. And even these are just plans. We don't have to do anything you don't want to do."

Amanda did not loosen her hold on him as she prayed deeply to believe him even a little bit.

Things were calm at the Berg's house. They believed Elle's story of mistakenly putting metal inside the microwave due to a sleepless night at the hotel and the exhausting journey of going back and forth between the hotel and the mansion. They also agreed to pay for it this one time as long as she promised not to break anything else. Claire had a feeling Mr. Berg was still gun shy about letting Elle go shopping for a microwave after her 15,000 shopping spree earlier in the morning.

Gretchen and Elle stayed in theater most of the day and Claire was able to shove down her feelings enough that she no longer felt the need to check on them. She only went back into the theater to get them when it was time for dinner. Elle and Gretchen held hands at the table, smiled at each other every now and then and made polite conversation. If Claire did not know any better she would think the relationship was real for them both. They went back into the little theater for the next few hours and finished their little marathon. The family did not seem to know or want to know what they were doing in the dark for all those hours. Claire knew the feeling.

Claire herself took the time to put her maid's knowledge to work and did legitimate undercover work by doing her job as a maid. She felt like things were finally making sense again. All she had to do was be good and stay true to her cause and stay away from the complex emotions that had been plaguing her in the less than a week she had been here. All she had to do was stay disentangled from the girls' drama and her emotions for them.

Naturally, the universe would not let that happen.

After nightfall she looked up to find Elle strutting towards her, ever watchful for the other lingering members of the Berg household to reveal themselves from behind some corner. Her restless body obviously yearned for some kind of release for her ability. Not uncommon but what was odd was that she was alone.

"What are you doing here? In search of more popcorn?" Claire teased as she wiped down a table with a white rag.

Elle shrugged. "We were watching 'The Wizard of Oz' and Gretchen fell asleep. I got bored."

Claire raised an eyebrow and stopped what she was doing. "Gretchen is asleep in the theater right now?" Elle nodded. "That's going to be uncomfortable when she wakes up."

"Try sleeping in a van for two weeks. That's hard," Elle said. Claire wondered how such a sheltered person such as Elle could have so many stories that Claire was unaware of. Everyone had their secrets she supposed. She certainly had accumulated more than a few on this mission alone.

"I'll go wake Gretchen and send her to her room. Then you and I can head to your hotel. Stay put," Claire said as she stepped around Elle and began to walk down the hall. She turned back to see Elle nod and flop into one of Bernie's neon green beanbag chairs. She searched her surroundings for a moment before grabbing a People magazine and pulling into her lap. Satisfied that Elle was suitably occupied Claire continued her way to the theater and took a slight detour in the projection room.

Claire looked out into the theater from her position in the projection room and found Gretchen asleep and alone in the dark just as Elle said. However, something that Elle did leave out was that Gretchen was shifting quite a bit in her sleep, kicking out and whimpering softly as her head shifted from side to side. Suddenly filled with concern, Claire turned off the projector and quickly ran out of the room.

Claire raced down the stairs and the aisles, taking a moment to flick on a light until she was climbing through Gretchen's row once again. Gretchen began to blink a little after the light was turned on and after squinting a moment she turned tired eyes toward Claire. Claire instinctively kissed Gretchen's forehead in an attempt to take the tall girl's temperature and make sure this was not the product of a fever as if there needed to be another thing to worry about. Her skin was moist but once Claire's fingers drifted to Gretchen's pulse point she found the brunette's heart was racing.

"Are you okay?" Claire asked as she sat next to Gretchen and draped an arm around her shoulders.

Gretchen nodded after a moment. After another moment she nodded a little more strongly. "Yeah, I just had a..."

"It's okay to have nightmares," Claire assured her.

Gretchen looked at her with eyes that were gaining increasing alertness. "You have them?"

Claire laughed as she thought about it. "Not only do I have them but sometimes real life is even scarier than the nightmares."

Gretchen nodded and swallowed a little, assuming it was about Claire's interaction with the serial killer. Sometimes it was. Gretchen ran her hands through her hair and tried to straighten it out. Claire noticed that Gretchen had not stopped moving since she woke up. She was looking for anything to distance her from what she just dreamed.

Claire ran a hand through Gretchen's slightly damp hair as she settled in the seat a little more. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Do you wanna talk about your dreams?" Gretchen asked back at her.

"I want to talk about you," Claire said calmly as she kept running her hand through Gretchen's hair.

Gretchen was quiet for a moment before raspily saying, "it's a long story."

"I love long stories," Claire said easily. Gretchen just laughed without any real humor and Claire just had to wonder what it meant. Could it be the irony got to her that Gretchen the girl who is eternally prying into other people's business cannot stand the heat when someone does it to her? Claire could only speculate. She was about to give up hope of Gretchen ever opening up when she finally did.

"You know what it's like when you're growing up, you think you're parents are like superheroes?" Gretchen asked.

"Yes," Claire answered instantly and honestly. More honestly than Gretchen could realize at this point.

"Yeah, you know what I mean, right? It's like you need them as much as you need the sun to rise in the morning. You just need them to always be there. It was like that for me until my mom died. I just have these dreams, sometimes they're like a war, sometimes it's not but it always ends up with my family abandoning me and me ending up all alone," Gretchen said sadly.

Claire was sad too, knowing that Gretchen's family would abandon her at some point and it would be all Claire's fault. Claire now knew how much Gretchen loved her family and how they loved her back. It made the loss all the more painful now that she was immersed in their lives and could watch them so closely. She could not give Gretchen fake assurances about how she was just imagining things, how everything would be all right and nothing like that would ever happen to her when Claire knew better that it would. She had no idea how to react at all.

Tears welled in Gretchen's eyes and Claire knew she had to act quickly. She had only wanted to comfort the other girl and instead she was making her more emotional and more upset. What could she do to make it better? She had a feeling that Gretchen was wondering the same thing as eyes filled with hopelessness landed on her.

Claire did the only thing she could think of and leaned forward to hug the other girl. She wrapped arms around her and held Gretchen's body as close to her as she could. She voiced the only truth that she could under the circumstances, "I'm here. I'm here for you right now and I'll do whatever I can to make you feel better."

Claire pulled away slightly so her face was mere inches from Gretchen's. She ignored the tantalizing lips that were no longer hers to kiss and pressed her lips to the corners of each of Gretchen's eyes, trying to kiss away the tears that flowed.

The two girls were in such a haze of emotions they paid no attention to the woman standing on the stairs of the theater. Elle watched them with a hardened gaze before she quietly turned on her heel and headed up the steps of the hall. Anger coursed through her as she wanted to electrocute something until it was burned to a crisp. She had her opportunity when she saw Delilah sneaking through the halls. Could she hurt her?

No, she could not. It was the wrong decision for so many reasons. It did not stop the ache for murder in her heart. It was moments like this she missed Adam and Peter. It was so hard to find a good puppy nowadays.

"What are you doing up so late, mini-me?" Elle asked.

Delilah froze in her tracks as she heard Elle's voice. That kid was in her own little world. Elle also noticed she looked a little guilty about something as her little body quivered. "You're not going to tell anyone I'm up, are you?"

Elle was inclined to point out that no one in this house seemed to care what anyone else was doing except for her since her life was on the line but what fun would that be? She could use some free entertainment in the midnight hour to get her mind off of the theater of illicit coupling.

Elle bent down a little and whispered, "well, I won't tell anyone what you're doing as long as you tell me what you're doing."

Delilah looked around for looming adults before whispering, "I'm going to look at the stars."

Elle nearly rolled her eyes as she thought, 'Well, that could not be more boring.'

"Rene is helping mom and dad rearrange furniture upstairs and Claire is absent as always. This is my only chance to see the telescope. It's top of the line," Delilah admitted.

Elle frowned but stood up straight again and motioned for Delilah to pass her and head up towards the telescope.

Delilah took a few steps before stopping and turning around to look at Elle again. "Hey, you could be my look out. You can keep watch and stop Claire and the others from finding me and sending me back to bed."

Elle brightened at this suggestion. The chance to stop Gretchen and Claire with any force she deemed fit was more than appealing. Maybe she had a chance to get her rage out after all.

She nodded her consent to Delilah and followed her upstairs. Before long they ended up in a room with a rather large telescope and Elle found herself wondering if civilians were allowed to use it. There was also a large television set which was great for Elle. Delilah untinted the walls so she could get a view of the stars and immediately began tinkering with adjustments on the telescope while Elle looked for a remote.

Outside of the house West could not believe his luck. He had just planned to come and get some information and all of sudden there was Elle without either of her bodyguards and alone with a small young girl.

And he had Amanda with him. He did not want to freak her out or force her to do anything she was not ready for but this was a golden opportunity that just fell in his lap. He could not walk away from this.

"Amanda, now's the time. Let's do this," West said as he looked at her. Her mouth was agape with shock.

"But- but you said-" Amanda stuttered before West interrupted her.

"I know what I said and I'm sorry that this is happening but this is our one chance to put a sociopathic murderer out in the open. She will probably end up doing something like this herself anyway, but this way we're in charge and we decide who gets hurt. All we have to do is kill her credibility and the mission will be ours," West said excitedly.

Amanda was still queasy and unsure and she felt it had to do with more than just doing this without the other group member's permission. She was still unsure if this was the right thing to do. "It's not we who are doing this, it's me and I still don't know. What if something goes wrong?"

"Nothing is going to go wrong. You can do this. I believe in you," West said as he looked deep into her eyes and in that moment she believed him.

Amanda looked back towards the house. What was another little indiscretion in the name of the mission. They were saving the world.

Amanda watched Elle move silently behind Delilah, looking at the television often. A spontaneous combustion meant to look like an electrical overload. She could do it. She closed her eyes and tried to get angry and visualize what she wanted to happen. She had a feeling it would not work because she really did not want this to happen but she was not a little girl anymore. She would have to do what was necessary. She may not have been angry at Elle or this little girl but she was angry at herself for going through with it and Amanda could only hope that was enough.

In a moment she knew it was when the explosion was so loud she could still hear it from outside. She saw Delilah's body on the ground covered with blood and she saw Elle standing back against the window looking terrified at what happened. West lowered Amanda to the ground for part two of the plan.

He did not smile and neither did she. She could only feel the emptiness inside and felt like she was a victim of the explosion too.

Boom.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Title: "The Road Not Taken"

Rating: PG-13 probably.

Pairings: Claire/Elle, Claire/Gretchen

Summary: When Claire goes back in time to save Elle, her relationship with Gretchen is threatened.

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show "Heroes."

Note: Takes place after "Brave New World." The past takes place after "The Butterfly Effect." Thank you Lied and She-Hulk from the BAM Board.

Boom.

For some reason the second Claire heard the explosion she was taken back to the day Sylar murdered her mother. He told her that they had something in common as the only thing that could hurt them was a broken heart.

The mansion was fortified with the greatest security measures and was almost as invincible as Claire was. This gave Claire the feeling that whatever had been destroyed was something resembling the mansion's heart.

Claire and Gretchen were on their feet in a second after having been broken apart rather ungracefully. After a shared glance of mutual panic and confusion Claire and Gretchen ran out of the theater as fast as they could and ascended the multiple staircases four steps at a time.

The smoke was coming from the first room away from the staircase and Claire entered the room just a second before Gretchen (a surprise given the other girl's long gangly limbs) and the instant her eyes fell on Delilah she wanted to shield Gretchen from the sight but it was too late as Gretchen entered the room behind her with a strangled gasp.

Claire quickly grabbed Gretchen into a hug and buried Gretchen's face into her shoulder. Claire's eyes were instantly searching again until they landed on Elle looking terrified but unscathed. She wanted to go to her but she was caught between two women again as she wondered for the millionth time which girl she should have been comforting. In this case there was a third option in Delilah. Claire wanted to offer the girl some healing blood but there was no syringe and Gretchen was right there to witness everything that transpired.

"Claire," Rene's yell echoed through the halls.

"Call an ambulance," Claire called back, hoping her yell did not disturb Gretchen. It was the only option at this point. She wanted to check on Delilah but Gretchen was limp in her arms and Elle was not moving either though she seemed to be getting her inner strength back by the second.

"What happened?" Claire asked.

Elle shook her head and focused again, taking a moment to peer at Delilah. "I don't know. I didn't see anybody-"

"What happened?" Claire repeated before any mission information slipped through Elle's shaken lips.

"I don't know," Elle yelled louder this time. "I was just so angry and I was trying to turn on the television-"

Claire looked to the remnants of the television and found her worst fear realized. Elle's power had gone out of her control and hurt someone, Gretchen's sister. They had put a child at risk. It was as much of Claire's fault as Elle's, maybe even more so. She hated herself in that moment.

There was a sudden loud knocking on the front door before Elle could finish speaking. Claire and Elle's eyes met each other in confusion. Claire asked, "Is there any chance that's the ambulance?"

Gretchen finally pulled away and wiped at her eyes which were overflowing with tears and shock. "You should check. Go check." Gretchen walked around the small embers of a fire that was beginning to grow in the room and brushed hair out of her sister's face before checking with trepidation for a pulse.

Claire reluctantly backed out of the room and began heading down the stairs. She passed Rene, Bernie and Joanna on her way down the stairs and hurriedly hissed to Rene, "You need to prepare them for what they're going to see."

Claire raced toward the door and swung it open with annoyance coloring her face. Her hair may have been out of control, soot stained her clothes and like any shoulder to cry on she had the faintest bit of moisture dampening her uniform but this was not a time to care about appearances or anyone else until Delilah was safe and sound. She only had patience for paramedics.

Instead of paramedics Claire found herself face to face with a young girl with golden hair and a cherub face but her eyes had such a void in them that Claire found herself almost sucked into the nothingness that lied inside. She was unbelievably familiar but Claire met a lot of people and a life could very well be hanging in the balance. She had bigger fish to fry than whatever girl scout cookies this girl was peddling.

"No soliciting," Claire said as she began to swing the door shut.

The girl reached out her hand and pushed her body forward to stop the door from shutting until her body was nearly wedged in between the door and the doorframe. "No, no, you have to listen. I'm Amanda and I just had to come to tell you that I saw a woman use blue sparks to blow up that television on the second floor. She looked so angry and that poor little girl looked so scared."

Claire's heart nearly stopped beating. She could hear screaming and crying upstairs and there was a little girl in peril but there was another fire starting on the porch in the form of a very dangerous witness with possibly damaging intentions. There was a lot of people helping upstairs. She needed to handle the mess in front of her.

She could shut the door on her but this girl might knock again and get someone else's attention and maybe not tell tales of sparks coming out people's hands but of Elle's culpability. Claire closed the door behind her as she stepped outside where Amanda was.

Approaching this problem with a fresh mind Claire took a minute to scrutinize the girl. Amanda. Amanda Strazzulla was Lydia's daughter from the carnival. Claire was about to call her on this fact when Amanda did it herself.

"You don't know me but I was at the carnival the other night. I saw that electrical storm and I saw that blond twice," Amanda said as she stared at her shoes and twirled her hair around her finger.

Claire could tell Amanda was being evasive and secretive but she could not tell about what and she could not ask on the basis of they knew each other in the future. That would just scare away someone with potential answers. She could not attack Lydia's child outright. She was not that kind of person. She had to be smart about this and draw the answers out as slowly as her situation could afford.

"You're from the carnival? You work there? Live there?" Claire asked as casually as she could. She was still tense but she could not control it and felt it was within her cover to be tense when a member of the family she was working for was seriously injured only moments before.

Amanda looked up from behind her curtain of hair and met Claire's eyes. "Yes."

"And you say you saw that blonde woman, Elle and I at the carnival a few times?" Claire asked as she took a step closer to the young girl. She was not one to torture but if making this girl feel pressured by an adult figure was going to get her truthful answers quickly Claire was not going to hold back.

Amanda shook her head back and forth, the wind tousling her hair into a dizzying wave sending her face into obscurity. Claire narrowed her eyes and saw tears glittering Amanda's eyes. This girl was hysterical about something. Was she that terrified of Elle?

When Amanda finally spoke it was with grave importance. "I did see her with you that night at the carnival but I saw her earlier that day too."

Claire bit her tongue to avoid a curse word coming out of her mouth as she shook her head knowingly. Elle was impulsive and not a big fan of doing what Claire said. Of course she could not wait until their date to go to the carnival. She decided to go on her own. If only Claire had been aware when they made their plans how dangerous it truly was given all the specials that resided there.

"She came to see my mother, Lydia, the tattoo girl," Amanda explained. Claire knew all too well who Lydia was but could not let on the truth. She merely nodded at the explanation so Amanda would continue which she did. "You friend held my mother's hand so her true desire would be revealed. My mother held her hand for a moment and what she saw made her terrified. She sent Elle away instantly."

As Amanda spoke Claire fleetingly wondered what Elle's desires were and if she would end up being among them. By the time Amanda had finished her statement Claire was in a completely different mind set. She could not be more scared. Claire thought hard about what she was about to ask. She did not have a lot of time to ask it. Soon, she would be overrun with a lot of other problems she would have to deal with and would not have time to interrogate and get rid of scared witnesses. It was a simple question but not one she was sure she would like the answer to.

With a gulp Claire finally asked, "Did your mother tell you what she saw?"

Amanda nodded and took a moment to eye Claire as if she wanted to almost savor the moment she delivered this blow to the system. Claire assumed she was imagining it. She was always getting reminded by others that the whole world did not revolve around her and her problems.

"My mother saw murder. Nothing but murder. Her true desire was to murder someone in a mansion just like this one. It's why I'm here. The carnival packed it in and left town but I hung back because I couldn't get this place out of my mind and didn't want some innocent person to become a victim of hers. I came over here to give you guys a warning and from what I saw it's too late," Amanda said tearfully.

Claire hated to admit that Amanda's confession made sense. Elle's file told stories of murder for the company, attacks on people of London and a murder at a car rental place, not to mention Elle accidentally murdered Claire while attempting to attack Claire's dad. Elle must have caused an explosion in the television out of anger and Delilah got caught in the crossfire. This could not get any worse.

The sound of stumbling was heard behind Claire and within a moment a breathless Gretchen was at her side. "Claire, what are you still doing out here? Did the paramedics get here yet?"

"Uh, no," Claire stumbled, not ready to handle Gretchen as well as Amanda who was already skittish. Amanda began inching away the second Gretchen's presence was known and only tried to get away quicker under Gretchen's withering gaze. If Claire had little patience for this depressing interruption, Gretchen had even less.

"What are you doing? Why are you talking to this girl? Who is this?" Gretchen snapped.

Claire moved around so she was in between Gretchen and Amanda, hoping that shielding the young girl from Gretchen's emotional outburst would keep her from running off. "This is nobody."

"Nobody? Then why is she here? Why are you out here when you could be helping inside?" Gretchen asked as began to step forward. Claire continued to block Gretchen's path with her body until they were pressed against each other. Gretchen's body was a stiff as a wall against Claire, all the softness buried under panic and urgency. She was not going to budge.

"I have to talk to her," Claire explained vaguely as she put her hands flat against Gretchen's shoulders to keep her in place but Gretchen was easily worked up by nature and the crisis with her sister did nothing to curb the emotions that were always on the surface anyway.

"You have to talk to her? Now? Why? I want an answer Claire. An honest one. Just be honest with me this one time. I need the truth right now. Come on," Gretchen said intensely as she stared deep into Claire's eyes. Claire felt herself crumbling on the inside as Gretchen spoke. She was unable to look away with every syllable the taller girl uttered. When Claire finally did break the gaze she found Amanda had left and Gretchen was furious.

Unable to fight or lie anymore, Claire did something that to her was unthinkable. She told the truth. "That girl was just here because she told me that she saw the accident through the window and she said that she saw Elle cause it on purpose."

Gretchen was instantly fuming to the point that Claire could almost see the steam coming out of her ears and the fire in her eyes. Gretchen stormed away from Claire, away from her touch and rolled her eyes as she paced around the sand.

When she finally turned to face Claire, she was louder and more forceful in her voice than Claire had ever heard. "Claire, that does not make any sense. Do you know how crazy that sounds?"

"I know how it sounds. I had to see if it was true. I had to," Claire tried to explain but Gretchen was already shaking her head before Claire could finish speaking.

"No, no. I can't believe that," Gretchen said, clothes crumpled and hair crazy. "This is a jealousy thing, right? You're jealous of my relationship with Elle and you're just making crazy accusations that don't even make any sense and are way out of line."

Claire held her hands up in a placating manner as if Gretchen was some wild animal about to attack. "I know you to don't want to believe that your- girlfriend-"

"Don't do that. Don't do that," Gretchen said as she waved her index finger in the air. At Claire's confused look Gretchen continued. "Every time you're about to call Elle my girlfriend you pause and gulp and roll your eyes and your hands twitch like you want to put up quotation fingers or something. Just because you don't like her, doesn't mean she's a killer."

'If Gretchen only knew,' Claire thought to herself before admitting, "I more than like Elle."

But Gretchen was too worked up to pay attention to Claire's soft declaration. "It just doesn't make any sense Claire. Our 82 inch television exploded so powerfully my sister got knocked into a wall. She is covered in burns and blood, was hit by debris and got a piece of metal stuck in her neck. The explosion just managed to go off in such a way that it almost exploded the windows, left Delilah fighting for her life and Elle barely unscathed. Elle somehow managed to pull that off? I don't think so. Why would she do that? How could she do that?"

Claire stepped toward Gretchen, worried about being too intrusive and upsetting her but this was something Gretchen needed to hear. "I know you don't want to believe she did this. You care about her. You have feelings for her. You may even be blaming yourself for bringing her into the house." Claire stopped for a second as she wondered if she was talking to Gretchen or herself. "I don't know what happened up there but I don't think the television exploded by itself. You have to accept the possibility that your girlfriend might not be the kind of person we hoped she would be."

"I can't accept that," Gretchen said as the sound of spinning helicopter blades began humming in the distance. Gretchen turned and walked inside and Claire was left wondering where Amanda ran off to as a medical helicopter landed on the roof. It was as if Amanda had flown off into the night. She very well might have as Claire could not exactly recall what Amanda's ability was besides flirting with boys that her mother did not approve of and Claire doubted that was it or she also had that ability, only her father was disapproving in that scenario and she did not think he would be very proud of her in this scenario either.

Claire entered the house to find Rene descending the stairs and heading straight for her. "How's she doing?"

"It's amazing she hung on this long. Won't last the next minute without some sort of miracle cure," Rene said as he produced a syringe from his pocket. Claire looked around for prying eyes before offering up her arm to him.

"Let her cure be miraculous," Claire said as he tied off her arm and began extracting blood. The red fluid filled up the tube slower than Claire would have liked but perhaps that was just her irritation and the urgency of the situation talking.

It was amazing how much blood meant in the long run. It was at its most basic, a red liquid. People needed it to survive. It was something everyone in the world had in common. They all had blood. The most significant difference was perhaps blood type. But Claire's blood was even more significant. It was different than everyone else's and as much as she hated being used, she hated how much her blood was wasted. She could not save her biological father because he was already in a casket headed into the ground when she finally got to him after hearing word of his death. All because of her dad and her grandmother and Matt Parkman's secret and insane plans. It was hard to forgive them when she did not understand what they were doing and why. Why could she never help who she wanted? She wanted to save Amanda's mother but Samuel imprisoned her just seconds before she could save Lydia and he did it on purpose too. First the company had control of her blood and now the government did as a show of good faith for minority relations after she jumped off the ferris wheel. She could at least help Delilah.

She did not want anything bad to befall Gretchen's family. Not just because she loved Gretchen but because she put her and her loved ones in harm's way and that was something she did take personally. It was her responsibility to take care of them. She just wondered how to get the blood in Delilah's system without anyone noticing.

Rene answered this question for her as he pulled the needle out of her arm and the skin instantly came back together and sucked in the excess blood as if nothing happened. "I will inject her and cover her up with bandages. It will look as if the family was over reacting to the explosion. I just need a little distraction."

"Got it," Claire said as she followed him up the stairs. "By the way, Elle might have caused this."

Rene tossed a sharp look in Claire's direction but never stopped in his haste to get upstairs. Once they were in the room, Rene asked, "Where is Bernie?"

"He went to meet the helicopter," Gretchen said.

"Why don't you go outside? You don't need to see this," Rene said calmly.

"I want to be here," Gretchen said, stronger than Claire had ever seen her, arms crossed, unmoving and with a fire burning in her eyes. She was probably trying to be strong in the face of the accusations flying and trying to be strong for her stepmother who was sobbing over injured daughter.

"Let's just give Joanna some space. Rene has some medical training. He can stay with her. Just come outside. Just come outside with me," Claire pleaded with an outstretched hand beckoning Gretchen forward.

Gretchen finally seemed to break a little in her stance and attitude. She was unsure of what to do and it was clear in her eyes that she wanted someone to tell her what the right thing to do was but she did not know who to trust. Elle watched the brunette curiously, probably also wondering how to act in this situation. Claire wanted to yank Elle out of the room herself given what she did but she could not just threaten a guest of the house. If Elle so much as sneezed Claire would have her out of there in a second. It just went to show Claire had been too easy on Elle already and Delilah's life was in danger for it.

Finally, Gretchen quickly left the room with Elle right behind her. Gretchen walked straight past Claire and into the hall while Elle stayed back for a moment next to Claire. Claire watched Rene place his hand upon Joanna's head and caused her to drop to the ground. He took out the syringe of Claire's blood and leaned over the little girl. It was all Claire needed to see before she spun around and put her hand on the small of Elle's back to guide her out of the room and shut the door closed behind them.

Gretchen remained in the hallway with her head resting against the wall and tears in her eyes. "I was in the room when my mom died."

"Your sister is going to be fine," Claire said before Gretchen immediately scoffed. Claire knew how it sounded. She was completely sure that Delilah was going to make a complete and instantaneous recovery but her words sounded like the generic comfort people gave and did not mean. It was the comfort of a person who just accused Gretchen's girlfriend of vandalizing her property and indirectly attacking her sister. Claire would not believe herself either.

Gretchen rolled her eyes and finally looked at Elle who was leaned against the opposite wall lost in her own thoughts, a frown resting on her face and her brow furrowed. Gretchen narrowed her eyes and cleared her throat, seemingly deciding if she really wanted to say her next sentence.

"So... what happened in there?" Gretchen asked.

Elle looked up. Her eyes darted in between Claire and Gretchen before landing back on Gretchen. "I don't know. The television just exploded. It was crazy I mean- I don't know what happened."

"And this all just so happened to go on when you two happened to be alone in that room?" Claire asked with a raised eyebrow.

Elle's jaw dropped as she eyed Claire and pointedly drew her gaze to Gretchen who was standing right next to them. If Elle thought Claire was unwilling to endanger more people than she already had, she would be mistaken. If Elle was going to be putting people at risk, Claire was going to take risks to stop her. She did not actually expect to get answers in front of Gretchen but she wanted to put pressure on Elle and to scare her. She wanted answers and she wanted justice for Delilah. More than anything she wanted some signs of a conscience within Elle to prove there was something worth saving inside of her and that Claire did not endanger an entire family because of her feelings for the electric blonde.

"Yes, it just happened. I don't know why the television chose to blow up at that exact moment. Maybe it was defective, maybe there were explosives inside or maybe it was just feeling fat that day but it was certainly nothing that I did," Elle exclaimed vehemently as she stepped toward Claire only to step back when Bernie and the paramedics began to run through the halls with medical bags and a Gurney.

Claire sighed as she remembered the reason she was here was to protect Elle from unknown assailants and the paramedics were strangers. She snaked her fingers around Elle's wrist and pulled her into the stairway. Gretchen followed as well without knowing what to do with herself.

They descended the stairs as the paramedics ran in with Bernie. Claire vaguely heard mentions from Rene about how Joanna passed out from the stress and Delilah's injuries not being as bad as they originally thought. Claire rested assured that the injuries would be written off as superficial, a trick of the light, grime and dust and pieces of debris.

Now, her concerns were entirely focused on Elle as they always seemed to be in one way or another. "So, you had nothing to do with what happened up there?"

"Claire," Gretchen snapped distractedly as she looked back upstairs where all the commotion was going on.

"I don't know what you thinking right now, but you're wrong," Elle warned as a spark pooled in her palm.

It only made Claire more tense with an oblivious Gretchen at her side. "Just be honest."

Elle shook her head tearfully. "I didn't do anything. You're supposed to be on my side. You're supposed to trust me. Trust me. I didn't do this. I mean, am I just a monster to you?"

"No," Claire said, her tongue pushing the one syllable word out against her will. Elle was many different things to Claire, including things that Claire did not dare figure out but not a monster. Claire's life would be a lot easier if that was all she was.

"If you really think that little of me, I'll just go out right now and take care of myself and that'll be it, okay? I can take care of myself. If you want me gone, I'm gone."

Gretchen pushed herself away from the wall and walked slowly toward Elle unwillingly to frighten her or rush into something herself. She was right in her thinking because Elle might be willing to attack her if she did.

"I don't want you gone. I want you safe here. I don't want anything to happen to you," Gretchen said and wrapped Elle in a hug. In a surprising turn of events, Elle let her. Claire sensed Elle was waiting for anyone to say those words to her. If Gretchen was the one then Gretchen's embrace was the one she would relax into and Claire watched as Elle tentatively rested her head against Gretchen and wrapped her arms around her as well. Elle was not smiling in relief. It was not what she always wanted but just enough for the moment. Claire felt a sting in her heart at the sight.

Gretchen looked to Claire then with expectant eyes, needing Claire to side with her, needing her support, needing her trust and in that moment Claire also needed to believe what Gretchen believed that Elle was somehow innocent. She needed to believe this was not as bad as it seemed and that a person she trusted was not betraying her. Gretchen prompted, "And Claire thinks that too. Right Claire?"

Claire had no choice but to honestly say, "right."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Title: "The Road Not Taken"

Rating: PG-13 probably.

Pairings: Claire/Elle, Claire/Gretchen

Summary: When Claire goes back in time to save Elle, her relationship with Gretchen is threatened.

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show "Heroes."

Note: Takes place after "Brave New World." The past takes place after "The Butterfly Effect." Thank you Lied and She-Hulk from the BAM Board. Once again, if the formatting of this confuses you, feel free to go to incandescentfire or my livejournal.

Everything had settled in the mansion by the time the moon had settled in the night sky. The question was really of how things had ended up settling in the mansion the following night. There was no doubt there was silence in the home but comfort was not found in it. It was the eery silence that kept someone company as they waited for something scary to jump up and reveal itself from the shadows. It was something that kept their small world in balance given the current state of affairs.

Bernie and Joanna had sudden "memory lapses" the doctors said. No matter how much Gretchen said she had been there and seen Delilah and could swear her cure was nothing short of miraculous, there was no one to confirm her story. The Bergs wrote off Gretchen's behavior as acting out due to the crisis that just happened and sent her home with Rene. Rene's call to Claire relayed this information which meant that she only had a few minutes left to continue her interrogation of Elle. Unfortunately, it was not a task she was up to.

Since Gretchen had prompted her support in Elle she wanted to stay in that bubble of belief and support. She did not want to believe that Elle was a killer and deal with the repercussions but it was her responsibility to do just that.

The second the Bergs left Elle locked herself up in Gretchen's room and she was content to stay that way as Claire was content to let her.

Claire pressed her ear against the door and heard Elle still shuffling around in silence. Claire expected to hear a television running in the background but then realized under the circumstances it would probably not be appropriate. Was Elle scared of her power misfiring and blowing it up as well?

Claire slid down the door and rested against it in a sitting position as she considered that maybe she was looking at this whole situation the wrong way. Maybe the blood was on Claire's hands and that was why she was so upset. Elle could not control what was happening to her and what she was doing to her environment. It was up to Claire to take care of her and everyone else and she failed causing Delilah to get seriously hurt even for just a few minutes.

It still did not explain what Amanda claimed her mother saw. Amanda said Lydia saw the desire to kill within Elle. It was the desire to kill within this mansion. Claire read Elle's file and knew the desire to kill did live in Elle. She lived with different rules than everyone else. She grew up with a different structure. The company made her a killer on purpose like they might have done with Claire if given the chance.

It pained Claire's heart to think about things like that. Elle got all the bruises that Claire never got because Claire unlike Elle had someone to protect her. And Claire had the ability to withstand things that Elle had to go through by herself.

It was something that crossed Claire's mind more than once and she liked to fool her heart into thinking that was why she protected Elle and cared so much but there was something more than that at work and it was something that Claire had to fight through to get to the truth. Delilah's injuries may or may not have been Elle's fault but they were absolutely Claire's fault. She knew that much for sure.

Claire could put off the inevitable conversation no further. She hoisted herself up and spun around to face the door. She laid both of her hands against it and rested on it for support before warily rapping her hands on the door. "Elle? Talk to me. Please."

He stalked through the night and through the sand. What happened that night was and was not his fault but it convinced him of what needed to be done.

When Amanda and West had returned disheveled and out of breath, the group had assumed what had been brewing for months between them had finally erupted and spilled over in some frenzied coupling on the beach. Their feelings for each other were as plain as a day and what kind of monsters would keep them from being together if that was what they wanted though Amanda was still a teenager. Raising herself and being a part of a task force such as this one made her seem older than she was.

Instead what the group found out was much worse. Amanda and West had apparently enacted their own side plan to "move things along." West claimed it was all in the name of completing the mission and making things better for everyone else. Everything would go faster and they could all go back home.

If that were true, their leader knew, West would have told them about the plan. It would have been something they discussed and researched. West may have convinced Amanda and perhaps himself that his intentions were noble but he kept it secret for a reason. He had to know that scheme could have killed Elle or someone else. In fact, they were not even sure that the small girl they targeted was still alive due to the unpredictable nature of Amanda's spontaneous combustion.

So, here he was. Their fearless leader was here looking for answers to questions and only gaining more questions himself.

What exactly was he a part of when he was a part of a team with children who tried to murder other children? The recruitment methods of Lazarus were suspect and the weary leader with the uncontrollable dark hair was having trouble ignoring them any longer.

Still, the group was creating a new future, a new world, a better one. Not everyone could see that at the moment but people would see. They were heroes.

Still, he was leader of this small group and it was his job to manage their actions. He was all they had in the world and certainly all they had in these trips to the past when the only people who they could talk to and confide in were each other. If they were planning something like this it was up to him to know, to stop them, to do something.

So, now he had to go on a quest to clean this mess up and he found himself wondering if poor Claire was feeling the same way. She took so much responsibility onto herself in the last few months. She had been through so much in her short life so far. He knew. Lazarus had seen to it. He had seen to it personally.

He was an evolved person. He knew that had happened somewhere along the line and now his job was to move forward and see how others were moving forward. He pressed his face against the walls of the Berg mansion and began to pace around the home in search of insight into the answers he craved.

Observation was always his specialty.

"Elle? Elle?" Claire continued to echo as she waited by the door.

Finally, she heard a click. Claire waited for something else to happen but nothing was forthcoming. After a few moments of silence she reached for the doorhandle and turned it slowly as if it were something as temperamental as a bomb about to explode. It did nothing but open and Claire pushed her way inside where she found Elle in the fetal position on Gretchen's bed, hugging a pillow with a blank stare.

Claire took a moment to observe Elle. She was so young and innocent and beautiful at times. Well, she was always beautiful. Claire had a feeling people had a tendency to forgive her for everything and anything but that was too dangerous for Claire to do.

She stepped forward and sat on the bed next to Elle as she asked, "Why did you decide to let me inside the bedroom?"

Elle shrugged as she stared at one of Gretchen's mobiles that hung from the ceiling and swayed ever so subtly in circles. "I figured I'd have to talk to you eventually before you gave Gretchen a gun and pointed it in my direction."

Claire rolled her eyes. "Don't pretend that this is my fault."

Elle scoffed as she rolled over to face Claire. "Why? Just because it is? What were you thinking earlier? You nearly outed me to everyone. Who does that?"

Claire had done that in the future. She had done that to everyone. Elle was not as far off as she thought but she did not need to know that, certainly not now when there was so much other trouble to focus on. Trouble other than her own.

"I wasn't actually going to do anything. I was just trying to make a point," Claire said.

Elle chucked the pillow that was in her lap at Claire as she straightened herself out on the bed. Claire caught the offending projectile and set it back down on the bed. Elle folded her arms over her chest.

"Whatever. There are better ways to make a point," Elle said with a wise tone in her voice.

Claire raised an eyebrow. "Like you did. Attacking young a girl because I what? Hurt your feelings?"

Elle rolled her eyes as she kicked against the bed. "I don't believe this. Do you hear yourself? Do you tune yourself out when you talk so you can be just as surprised as the rest of us when this stuff comes out?"

Claire narrowed her eyes. "Don't act like I'm wrong."

Sparks started to explode in Elle's palm and she was quick to make a fist in an attempt to trap them inside. She slid her eyelids shut as she inhaled a deep breath before opening her eyes and attempting once again to make her argument. "You keep acting like I'm the crazy one. I'm the sociopath. Do you know what that word means? What it involves? Lying, irresponsibility, unlawful behavior. Now, let's think about this. Oh yeah, it sounds just like you."

Claire shook her head at this reasoning as she felt a familiar tenseness make her shoulders rigid. Her one solace was knowing she would never be the type to fall prey to a heart attack. Claire felt like she should be pacing or releasing the tension somehow but she was never able to look away from the captivating blonde. It was her downfall. She knew it.

"So, your defense is that I'm the bad guy?" Claire asked with a raised eyebrow.

"My defense is that I'm not," Elle said as she got off the bed. "I didn't do anything wrong. You're just assuming I did."

Claire shook her head rapidly. She was not doing this on purpose. She did not like to see Elle in pain. She could not understand why Elle did not see that but of course since Claire's feelings were not clear to herself. How could they be clear to anyone else?

"I have proof," Claire protested.

Elle's eyes widened. "Proof? You have proof? What? Did a little birdie come up to you and say Elle blew up a television?"

"No, a girl did," Claire blurted defensively before she could stop herself. She immediately fell silent and pressed her lips close together in a thin line to prevent more words from thoughtlessly spilling out.

Elle wore a face of shock and Claire felt sure at least in this moment that it was genuine. In a soft voice she asked, "a girl told you? What girl? What did she tell you?"

Elle sounded hurt as if this were a runaway piece of gossip in the halls of high school. Claire felt instantly guilty for ambushing Elle with this information. She did not seem outwardly guilty though she rarely ever let it show. She looked simply confused and shocked and did not know how to react so she just pushed forward.

"When the explosion happened I went downstairs, I thought the paramedics would be down there. Instead there was a girl who said she saw everything that happened from outside and said she saw you blow up the television with electricity," Claire uttered in a rush. She took a long breath to gather herself and as she did she saw Elle's face scrunch up with suspicion.

"So, some girl came out of nowhere and knew the exact time Delilah got hurt?" Elle asked as she rose from the bed.

Claire shrugged, unsure how to explain what she knew. "She said she was from the carnival and you went there and got your desires read and it inspired her to come here."

"I went to the carnival with you," Elle said and at Claire's knowing nod she quickly added, "And I went there on my own. Don't interrupt me."

Claire had her jaw open and slowly shut closed at Elle's words. If she was being honest Claire was not going to stop her.

"I did get my desires read by some woman. She said I would get what I wanted on a plane and a building and then a house. She also said I would be reunited with someone I wronged in the past and would finally get closure," Elle finished with a shrug, lost in the memory as she searched for more answers. "Nice enough woman. Very empathetic like that uncle of yours. She talked my ear off about how she knew what it was like to feel lonely because the only family she has, a sister and daughter live a million miles away. She said I could join the carnival and get a real family but the boss would have to approve of me because he wanted to keep the family small. I thought they may be a help to me. It's why I was hoping to meet Joseph before everything went wrong."

Claire's feet buckled underneath her as she stumbled back and took a seat on Gretchen's desk, the weight of the information was bearing down on her. Claire had been prepared for Elle to lie her way out of the situation, rationalize or scheme but Elle only had a few remaining days left on this Earth and everything she said fell into place with what little Claire knew of them. There was no way Elle could know these things other than the way she said. Claire did not tell her and if she did not Rene certainly did not.

This meant that Elle was actually telling the truth which meant that Amanda had to be lying. Why would she show up lying at the exact moment Delilah got attacked? Amanda was Lazarus. They had been found. Lazarus was coming for Elle.

The sound of a door slamming open erupted in the house and shot through Claire's heart like a bullet. In a moment, she was on her feet and in front of Elle as a human shield. Claire may have been a petite girl but she knew in that moment she would do anything to keep Elle safe.

Elle had not followed Claire's internal series of conclusions and peeked over the girl's shoulder suspiciously. "Fantastic. I'm left alone with the unbalanced and untrained bodyguard. That's just super."

"Be quiet," Claire groaned without any real comeback in mind as she took a second to peer at Elle.

Elle laughed at Claire's feeble comment before sarcastically asking, "what? Are we under attack?"

"No?" Claire meant to be comforting but she was never a good liar. She did not want to panic Elle with the idea of attackers. In her current unstable state Elle could end up killing one of them when what they needed was answers and Claire did not want to kill anybody. That was the last thing she wanted to happen even if they were facing the bad guys.

Elle tried to step out from behind Claire but Claire pushed her back. Elle's eyes widened as she finally caught on to Claire's fears. "Cheerleader?"

The bedroom door finally opened and Claire rushed at their assailants, realizing as she did so that it was in fact Rene and Gretchen who were entering. Before Claire could stop herself she found her body pressed against Gretchen who she had just pinned to the wall with the sheer force of her body and one of Claire's legs carefully placed in between hers and against her.

"Hi there," Gretchen said in a high pitched tone.

Claire instantly disentangled herself from Gretchen and backed away until she was colliding into Elle who rolled her eyes at Claire's behavior and lightly shoved her onto the bed.

"Careful pompom. You want to grope me like you did Gretchen, you'll have to buy me dinner first," Elle teased as Claire blushed.

Claire picked at a corner of her apron with her hands. It was all clean and perfect and straight and everything Claire was not and she felt the need to tamper with it until it looked like she felt.

"I was just scared... after what happened. I thought you might've been a bad guy," Claire stumbled through her apology as she looked up from under her eyelashes, suddenly shy around Gretchen after the way she just embraced her. Claire's eyes darted to Rene just long enough to see that he got her message about the bad guys being near.

Gretchen finally got her bearings as Claire finished talking and tugged on her shirt collar with her index finger as she tried to straighten herself out. "Well, you don't have to worry about that. No bad guys are getting in here."

Claire nodded after a moment. "Yeah, I actually wanted to talk to you about that. Could we talk alone for a second?"

Gretchen nodded quickly before taking a moment to pause and take a deep breath to look nonchalant. "Yeah, I mean if Elle's okay with it."

The room's eyes turned to Elle who crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged in an attempt to match the casualness of the others. "Yeah whatever."

Elle crossed the room and exited without looking back. Rene followed her and with a nod to the remaining two girls he closed the door.

Claire and Gretchen found themselves staring at each other as Claire continued to have trouble making eye contact and Gretchen shoved her hands in her pockets. Claire hoped the other girl could not tell how affected she was by their brief interaction. It would only make what she had to say that much harder.

"Look, I wanted to apologize for what I said before. It was wrong. I was wrong," Claire took a deep breath and averted her eyes before trying to get her next words out all in one breath. "I was just jealous and scared and confused and I accused Elle of some things that weren't at all fair. I'm sorry. You guys are a great couple and you should stay together."

When Claire finally looked at Gretchen again, she found Gretchen blinking the disappointment out of her eyes before plastering on a tight smile. "Wow. You talk really fast."

Claire laughed at the awkward attempt at humor before stepping closer to Gretchen. "I hope you aren't mad at me."

"Well, it's not me you need to be worried about. It's Elle," Gretchen said evasively.

Claire nodded guiltily as she stared at her shoes again. "Yeah, we've been talking. I'm going to apologize to her. I owe her that. She deserves that. I just wanted to make sure we were okay and you and Elle were okay."

Gretchen nodded and cleared her throat. "Yeah, I mean I never suspected her of anything. Not really. I do think I might breakup with her now though. This is too much of a stressful time to be dating someone I just met."

Claire's head shot up in a panic as she closed the distance between them. If Gretchen broke up with Elle she could not keep Elle in the house and Elle would be even less safe than she would be outside the house. "No, you can't breakup; not at a time like this."

"Why?" Gretchen practically whined though she kept the friendly smile on her face.

"Your sister was just hospitalized and Elle was there when it happened. You both have been through so much and you shouldn't be on your own. You need to lean on each other and support each other. I know you two care about each other. It's the right thing to do," Claire said as earnestly as she could without outright pleading.

"Well, I guess you're right, but... you really want me with Elle?" Gretchen asked with her eyes searching Claire's for something. Whatever it was Claire could not give it to her. Not when Elle's life was at stake.

"Yeah, what else could I possibly want? I mean as your friend I have to want what's best for you, right?" Claire asked with false brightness.

Gretchen nodded slowly. "Yeah, right. Well, thanks Claire. You're a good friend."

The word 'friend' almost sounded like an insult on Claire's ears as she could almost hear the hurt dripping from the syllable. There was nothing she could do as Claire was known for being the girl not hurt for too long. She simply smiled and said, "yeah. I'm a great friend."

As Claire and Gretchen were talking the Haitian walked with his arm around Elle's shoulder causing the blonde to tense and shudder. She had known the man her whole life (that she remembered) and there was never an intimacy level of this nature between them.

Her mind started to wander to the different things that could explain this action. The only explanation seemed to be that in this first vacation of her life she was getting romantic offers from two women and now a man. Elle finally understood the appeal of going on vacations though in this instance the attention was unwanted. It was just her luck that it would turn out that the one person who could stop her from using her abilities was the one person she wanted to hurt at the moment.

He stopped her panic as he spoke to her with an uncharacteristic smile gracing his face, "Stay calm. We are being watched."

Elle finally understood and was not as relieved as she thought she would be to the idea that she was right about the bad guys who had come back to finish whatever plan they had started. She was panicked and could feel her power nervously begin to rebel inside her skin but she instantly calmed herself. She and the Haitian had been partnered before and now they had Claire as back up. They could handle this.

Still. "What are we going to do?" Elle hissed as she moved to crouch down but the Haitian's firm hand held her in place by his side.

With his pleasant and conversational grin still framing his face, the Haitian continued to lead her forward. "When facing an unknown opponent who has a surplus of strength and agility we cannot meet, we must fight with a different strategy."

"Yes, that's why I asked what the strategy is you fortune cookie," Elle said through her teeth.

The Haitian leaned close as they walked with his hot breath against Elle's ear, a simple move she did not even know he possessed. "We are going to go into my room and get rope and sheets. Then we will head to the back door where there is a control panel." The Haitian paused to push open the door to his room and led Elle inside with him before finally dropping his hand from her shoulder to sort through his bag. "We will keep our eyes forward or focused on each other until we get there. I will use the control panel to lower the window and you will immediately shoot a bolt of electricity outside. It does not matter if you misfire. Position your body facing the window and fire anything you've got."

"Got it," Elle said with a decisive nod. "But why do you have rope in your room?"

The Haitian ignored her question as he pushed the rope into her arms and striped the sheet off of his bed and tucked it under his right arm.

"I always knew you were into kinky stuff," Elle concluded to herself. The Haitian slung his left arm back around Elle's shoulder as he led her back out of the room and closed the door behind him.

The pair walked along with their fake smiles and planning minds and as much as Elle hated to think it she was relieved she at least knew what she was doing. Being an agent was who she was. She wondered who she would be from here on out.

Finally, the control panel was a few feet away and Elle wondered about losing control of her ability yet again but there was actually no time to do so. The Haitian spun her out of his arms where she twirled with all the grace she always wanted from all the dance classes she never got as a child. In a moment the Haitian was at the control panel and Elle stopped spinning in front of the large window that finally opened and Elle let all the electricity she had inside blast out and hit their unknowing voyeur.

She saw the body roll away across the sand like a stone getting skipped across the ocean. Elle laughed in quiet relief and amazement. She knew she was a hero.

When she finally turned her head she found the Haitian at her side and she knew it was time to collect their bounty as they did before. Bag and tag was more than her upbringing or her career. It was a way of life.

Elle and the Haitian ducked out of the open window in unison as the team they once were and perhaps always should have been. They trudged across the sand until they came across the body face down in the sand, not dead or even hurt as much as Elle expected him to be. She still had some form of control.

The Haitian bent down and rolled the limp body over and as the familiar face was revealed Elle could not help the laugh that bubbled out from her throat. It was truly a small world and she could not believe she was important enough to warrant so many visits from the ghosts of her past.

"We have captured our spy," The Haitian said needlessly as he took the rope and began to bind his prisoner who was groaning back into consciousness.

Elle was proud to be the first thing their conquest saw as he awakened. With a proud smirk firm on her face she greeted him. "Hello Mohinder."


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Title: "The Road Not Taken"

Rating: PG-13 probably.

Pairings: Claire/Elle, Claire/Gretchen

Summary: When Claire goes back in time to save Elle, her relationship with Gretchen is threatened.

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show "Heroes."

Note: Takes place after "Brave New World." The past takes place after "The Butterfly Effect." Thank you Lied and She-Hulk from the BAM Board and dezirose417 on livejournal. Once again, if the formatting of this confuses you, feel free to go to incandescentfire or my livejournal.

It was not a complicated process like Elle would have imagined. She was used to getting orders and she figured without someone giving her orders she would have to come up with some plan of her own and her plans tended to be rather badly executed from what she was told.

Of course then she realized she was working with the Haitian who was of very little words. She did not even know his name, if they even had those in the village he came from.

He quickly roped Mohinder's hands together behind his back before binding his feet together like an animal. Afterwards, he hoisted the groggy man over his shoulder and carried him back toward the house fireman style. He paused at the threshold and looked both ways to make sure Gretchen was not about to walk by before ducking into the house and heading towards his room.

Elle almost laughed at the sight. Everything he did seemed so innocent and effortless. Mohinder seemed as weightless to Rene as a feather as he speedily carried Mohinder to his room where Elle shut the door behind them.

When she turned around she spotted the Haitian removing a knife that was hooked onto his belt. She was surprised to see it. Who needed a weapon when they were a weapon? She sensed it was to make him seem like a more intimidating warrior as if he needed any help with that. He was one of the scariest people Elle had ever met and she included herself on that list.

He flipped the knife open and used it to cut off some rope hanging off of Mohinder and used the remainder to tie the limp man to the chair before hooking the knife back on his belt. He knelt beside him for a moment and examined his wounds.

"He was watching the house before Gretchen and I returned. I noticed him crouching in the sand. I do not think he is an assassin or at least another assassin," The Haitian said as he studied his features.

Elle stepped forward as well and examined him. She flashed back to days of Mohinder being her partner. She was his gun. She remembered fitting him with a gun holster and she remembered him shooting Claire's dad. It was all a ruse though. He did not leave Glasses dead for more than a few hours and he could not even put a needle in someone. He was no threatening muscle. He was just a brain.

"I agree. He's probably some kind of leader. I see middle management and for that to work he would have to be in charge of people who wouldn't step all over him. So, much for the crack team in charge of capturing me," Elle said with a smirk. She frowned when the Haitian shook his head.

"The greatest gift we can give our opponents is underestimating them. The Lazarus group are not people to be underestimated," Rene warned as he stood up and dusted the sand off of his clothes.

"Well, fine. How do we handle him already? I mean if my life is in that much danger shouldn't we take action?" Elle asked as she ran her fingers through Mohinder's hair before yanking on the strands to bring his head up.

Rene crossed his arms across his chest in a manner that was not as judgmental as the pose normally was. "Now, we need Claire and cough syrup."

"Cough syrup?" Elle asked with a raised eyebrow.

Rene nodded. "That and a distraction."

"A distraction," Claire asked as she timidly followed Gretchen into Delilah's bedroom which was covered with posters of Kurt Cobain, Beethoven and the Stones. Her bed was queen sized, many layered and covered with stuffed animals. Gretchen grabbed a monkey and giraffe stuffed animal off the bed and tweaked them into a more visually pleasing position on the bed.

"I just don't know what to do with myself. I'm worked up and worried and apparently having hallucinations now since it turns out that Delilah is actually fine apparently," Gretchen said before plopping down for a seat on the bed. "I need to do something."

"How about take a good nap?" Claire offered with a perky smile but Gretchen shook her head.

"I need to do something like what I did for you. Giving you the stars, remember? I need to do something to make her feel better. You should have seen her Claire. She was so freaked out and terrified when she woke up and when my parents went to find a doctor Rene tried to calm her down and she did calm down but she was all hazy and confused," Gretchen said as she seemed to be confused about what happened herself.

Claire was getting less confused by the second as she stepped forward. "Rene comforted her in the hospital?"

Gretchen nodded. "He was great actually. He spoke in those calming tones that he uses and just rested his hand on her head. It seemed to really calm her down."

A grim smile found its way to Claire's lips as the scene she pictured had indeed happened just as she predicted. She knew it was a necessary evil. It needed to be done but it did not make anything better. People deserved more. "He's a sweetie. You're right. We should do something to make her feel better. What does she like?"

Gretchen shrugged as she stood. She smoothed out the bedspread where she was sitting until it was once again perfect. She backed away slowly, careful not to disturb anything.

"I don't know her all that well," Gretchen admitted. "We mostly bonded over music because it's the most obvious thing about her."

"She and Elle were in the telescope room. She probably likes stars too," Claire added helpfully.

Gretchen nodded. "That's true. I'm sorry I didn't notice before but at this point I don't want to bring back any bad memories of her accident."

'No chance of that,' Claire thought to herself but kept the smile on her face. "I understand. So, what's your plan?"

Gretchen paced around the room and every so often glanced up at the ceiling. "Well, she plays piano but wants to play guitar more. Either way she loves all kinds of music. She's too old for a nightlight but she probably shouldn't be alone tonight, so..." Gretchen trailed off as she seemed to come to a conclusion.

"So, I have all the pieces of the puzzle but still can't put it together. Am I supposed to know what you're talking about?" Claire asked as she playfully tilted her lip out in a pout.

Gretchen chuckled, leaving her eyes to linger on Claire for just a second too long before shaking her head and tilting her eyes and her hands towards the ceiling as if she was framing an image from her mind. "Remember how I made that projection of the stars on the ceiling for you?"

"Yeah," Claire said as she stood next to Gretchen and looked up at the ceiling over her shoulder.

"I was thinking I could make a projection on the ceiling that projected the lyrics to Delilah's favorite songs in a constant loop on the ceiling. It may be comforting," Gretchen said, her voice wavering with uncertainty.

Claire nodded along, suddenly enamored with the idea of doing something kind. "You could put the guitar chords with the lyrics so she can learn the sheet music while she's staring up at them. Get her used to it while comforting her. It'll give her mind something to do besides obsessing over what happened."

Claire and Gretchen's eyes met in an instant as a toothy grin broke out across Gretchen's face. "That's it. You get it. You just get it."

Claire felt a connection forming between them as they smiled at each other like the times before this mission. When Claire agreed to watch "Crossing Jordan" with her after a 22 hour day at work just to make her happy or when Claire asked Gretchen to move into an apartment with her on the exact same day Gretchen was planning to do the same.

She felt that connection with a few others as well. Like when Claire and Elle searched through a bunch of songs on the radio before happening to land on one that they both liked, one of the few Elle even knew. Like when Claire instinctively helped carry Elle to the Pinehearst building.

The moment she was currently in felt like a moment warranting a kiss but the timing was off. Claire's timing to be exact. But also Elle's timing was off as she swung the door open, the force of which caused the door to slam and shatter the tension between the girls.

"The Haitian needs your help," Elle said breathlessly.

Claire paused, needing to get a feel for the severity of the interruption. "Well, Gretchen and I were about to work on something together."

"I'll take your place," Elle quickly cut in and she stepped toward Claire. "But the Haitian really needs your help. He asked for cough medicine- you know, for his cold. He's very sick."

"Oh," Gretchen said crestfallen as she turned to Claire. "I guess you should go take care of him."

Claire nodded. "I guess so." She turned to Elle who was positively beaming with delight and she wondered what sort of event was demanding her attention. "Are you going to be okay?"

Elle clasped her hands behind her back and smiled. "Just perfect."

Claire entered Rene's room and closed the door behind her with cough syrup in hand. When she turned she was surprised at what she saw.

"Dr. Suresh? Oh my God," Claire gasped as she stepped toward him.

"Claire," Mohinder croaked as he looked to her with desperate pleading eyes and cracks of skin and bone across his face. The exposed parts of his body through tattered clothing showed blood trickling out in tiny streams. Claire's eyes hardened on his vulnerable visage.

Rene plucked the cough syrup out of Claire's hand and unscrewed the cap leaving it sitting on top of the bottle. He tilted Mohinder's face skyward and tightened his fingers on Mohinder's face to keep his mouth open before handing the bottle to Claire.

"Claire," Mohinder grumbled, barely able to move his mouth under Rene's grip.

Claire stepped forward slowly, never breaking eye contact with the man who served as her chief medical council, the one who tended to all her friends and family, the one who gave her all those procedures and shots.

"You're betrayal hurts me, Mohinder but I have a feeling it's going to hurt you a little more." Claire's gaze hardened to Mohinder then as she removed the lid to the cough syrup and began tipping the liquid down Mohinder's throat.

"You could send her a card. I know for a fact that Hallmark cards are made just for this kind of thing," Elle complained as she flopped down on the large bed and spread her arms out like she was making a snow angel.

Gretchen chuckled and shook her head as she continued to search the web for sheet music. "You don't get it. It's like I explained to Claire, it's not about making me feel better, it's about making Delilah feel better. I don't want her to feel scared or alone."

Elle laughed without any mirth. "Of course, Claire helped talk you into this. She's all sweet and good and always try to help the lost causes. She's just perfect."

Gretchen's brow furrowed and she sported a little pout as she took in Elle's words but did not look in her direction and focused in on the computer screen. "I wouldn't say Claire's life is perfect. She's without her family, has to work as a maid. It's hasn't been all roses and sunshine for her, you know."

"I know," Elle said quietly. Gretchen thought that was the end of the Claire-centric conversation but Elle soon spoke again. "So, she has a crappy job. We all have at some point- well, maybe not you yet, but she just has everything that no one else has. She's just gorgeous and sweet and kind of stubborn and tough."

Gretchen's pout became a frown and she could not pretend to be interested in Delilah's present for a moment longer. Gretchen thought Claire would be pleased that she was breaking up with Elle. Then it would be just Gretchen and Claire again and she was almost sure that Claire did not want to remain "just friends" anymore just as much as Gretchen also did not. However, it was beginning to seem like Claire wanted Elle in the house more than she did and Elle was more fond of Claire than she was of Gretchen. She was not liking the situation one bit but had no idea what to do about it.

With a heavy heart she resumed typing on Delilah's present. At least in that situation she knew what she had to do.

"I can't believe you drugged me. You really have become heartless," Mohinder slurred as he struggled to keep his head up.

Claire reached over and lightly slapped his face in repetition to keep him awake, then took a moment to softly stroke his face. "You were a really good friend of mine, but I guess that was all a lie. Tell me, Mohinder. When did you become a member of Lazarus?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Mohinder slurred.

Claire sat back in her chair that was directly opposite of him. She made a big show of sighing since Mohinder was too tired and slow at the moment to keep up with subtleties. "Well, I'm sorry about that Mohinder because here is what is going to happen. Either you will immediately tell us everything you know about the Lazarus organization or Rene will go inside your head and remove every memory of us, Elle and Lazarus from your brain and toss you back to your conspirators. We'll see what they do with you when you're no longer a source of intelligence. With your memory wiped they'd know you came in contact with the Haitian. Even if you didn't talk, with you all mindless they would never know for sure."

She leaned forward towards him and whispered with her most innocent grin, "I don't think they'll be pleased. The choice is yours."

She sat back in her chair and looked to Rene who stood regally at her right side as she waited. She was bluffing with her threat but wondered if Rene would indeed follow through with it. He told her there was a mole within Lazarus, someone infiltrating the organization but she knew that Mohinder was not it, not with the way Rene was letting her treat him. He looked just as disappointed as Claire was.

She realized now was the time that she had to step up and if necessary become the monster everyone thought she was. "So be it," she said as she nodded at Rene who stepped forward to extend a hand towards Mohinder's head.

"Stop," Mohinder said as he used all his strength to lift his shaky head up. She wanted to help and support her fallen friend. She hated that he still looked like a friend and not the terrorist that he was. She held Rene's arm in place as she waited for Mohinder to speak. "You want to know when I betrayed you, Claire? I never did. I've been saving the world more times than I can count since you betrayed us. I joined Lazarus the night you jumped off the ferris wheel."

Claire stared at him for a long moment and wondered what to do. After a moment she said, "Rene, I need you to distract Gretchen. I need Elle."

The Haitian entered the bedroom quietly but still surprised the two occupants. His lips curled in an apologetic smile before he spoke. "Elle, Claire needs your help hanging a painting I clumsily knocked over. I would help her myself but my hands are unsteady."

Elle smothered a laugh at the idea of a shaky handed Haitian. There would be a whole lot more amnesiacs running around if that were true. She threw her legs off the side of the bed in one fluid motion until she was standing up but Gretchen had instantly leapt out of her chair and was moving to follow the Haitian as well.

"You know, I could help her. It's my house. I know about paintings," Gretchen said quickly.

Elle exchanged a look with the Haitian before flashing a charming grin at Gretchen. "You know, I should do it. I'm a freeloading guest and I want to lend a helping hand to the... help."

Gretchen nodded. "And that's so sweet but Claire and I have this rapport going-"

"And she and I also have one," Elle quickly interjected with a shrug at their predicament. "I'll just go and it'll be taken care of before you know it. You keep working on your project. Wouldn't want you getting distracted. The Haitian will even help. He looks like the geek type."

On that last sentence Elle clapped The Haitian on the shoulder and exited through the door and closed it before Gretchen could protest again.

Gretchen slowly sat back down in her chair, embarrassed about not getting her way in her own house and in front of someone she did not know very well. Rene was incredibly intimidating to say the least.

"I don't suppose you know a lot about projectors and computer projects and music, do you?" Gretchen felt she had to ask.

"I know a little," Rene offered with an affirmative slant of his head.

Gretchen nodded and then sat in silence for a moment as she thought over the issue that was nagging at her besides her sister getting hospitalized. She figured Rene had very little of the answers she wanted on a good number of subjects but at least he was there to listen.

"Do you think that Elle likes Claire?" Gretchen asked. Rene frowned, obviously not a fan of this line of questioning but Gretchen would not relent. "Because I think so. It seems like Claire is trying to keep her in the house and I thought it was because she wanted me to be happy because there was something with her and I. Now, with the way Elle is acting I think that maybe Elle wants to stay in the house to be near Claire which means that they want to be together and neither one of them wants to be with me which means..."

Rene watched Gretchen's deflated face and could not help but feel something. Claire may not be showing any loyalty to one girl but he had no loyalties in this department either. Claire was his dear friend and the family member of many other dear friends. He and Elle lived in the same place and to some extent he watched her grow up and had to forget what she learned. And Gretchen as Claire's friend and then girlfriend showed him nothing but kindness after Claire's fall from the ferris wheel despite his threat to her before. To see any of the ladies hurt was the last thing he wanted no matter how inevitable.

"It is foolish to wonder what goes on in other's minds. It will only lead to madness in your own. Do what you can to do well for yourself," Rene instructed to an extremely attentive Gretchen.

She took a moment to take in his words before swiveling her chair back to the computer. "So, you're saying I should stop obsessing and work on this project to make my stepsister feel better?"

"Yes," Rene confirmed as he stepped close to the screen to monitor her progress.

Gretchen puffed up her cheeks and blew out a sigh as her fingers hit the keys. "Easier said than done."

"It always is," Rene agreed.

"What's up?" Elle asked as she burst into the room they were keeping Mohinder in. Through the low lighting and the shadows she spotted the bloodied man look at her with squinted eyes and her eyes widened as she could not believe what she was seeing. "He's still alive AND in that chair?"

Claire flitted her left hand back and forth to signal for Elle to close the door. Elle stuck her tongue in the side of her cheek with annoyance at Claire's non-responsive behavior but closed the door nonetheless.

Once the door was closed Claire still did not acknowledge Elle's presence but fixed a smile at Mohinder full of politeness and manipulation and devoid of warmth. She knew his instincts were screaming out, begging to call her an Angela Petrelli in the making but the curiosity of a scientist that had almost lead to his destruction so many times was keeping him from doing anything other than observe what was about to play out before him.

"Okay, Mohinder. Well, it's obvious you know that Rene and I are here from the future as are you. It's also obvious for reasons that I won't discuss that Elle is not from the future which means it's obvious to all of us that you've come for her. So, it's time to make your move, Mohinder. Rene's gone so your power isn't blocked anymore. You're going to kill her or capture her or convert her to your terrorist ways, right? So, the time is now. She's right here. You can do whatever you came here for," Claire said in calm and pleasant tones.

"What?" Elle finally erupted to Claire in shock but Claire's eyes never left Mohinder who looked somewhat surprised and pleased.

"Hello? What the hell is the matter with you?" Elle screamed at Claire. A second past and Elle roughly shoved Claire who nearly fell out of her chair.

Claire felt bad for her trick but she needed to get things done. She was always the one who needed to get things done. Her position in the world and one track mind would not allow for much else.

"Are you satisfied now, Mohinder? Are you done with the games and the ridiculous statements? Are you finally going to talk now that I am finally the villain that you want me to be?" Claire asked.

"You help villains," Mohinder spit at her.

Claire shook her head at the sentence. He was the one trying to recruit Elle for evil after all. Not to mention that the Lazarus group were the prime suspects in Gretchen's murder. "You're really one to talk. Shoot anyone lately? Like you know, one of my loved ones or something?"

"You think I'm the source of all the murder in the world? If anyone is responsible for a majority of the crime going on it's you. I mean, it's different for some of us than you. You could PASS AS NORMAL!" Mohinder screamed.

"What in the hell are you talking about?" Elle screamed over him as she looked between the two other people in the room and electricity began to scorch her skin.

Claire began to look worriedly at Elle's obviously rattled state but before she could stop herself she responded to Mohinder's accusation which obviously avoided her previous question, something she needed to know the answer to. "You could pass too."

Elle began to take in quick, shallow breaths, trying to stop from hyperventilating and exploding in a way she could not control. Claire was baiting Mohinder to attack her or take her away and with the way they were talking he had an ability too, maybe a dangerous one like hers. With a look to Claire who was finally looking at her with sympathetic eyes she desperately asked, "this is the guy? He's the one that has been after me? Well, fine. I'm ending this now. I'm killing him."

"Elle," Mohinder gasped as Elle raised her hand to him. Claire just as quickly lowered it back down.

"No," Claire warned in a deep stern tone as she took Elle's hands in hers, getting literally seared by Elle's anger. She wished that she could feel the pain of it if only for Elle's sake. She deserved at least that much.

There was nothing she could do for Elle now. That much was made clear as the betrayed look burned its way into Elle's features, blue arcs of light illuminating pieces of the heartbreak that played against her face. She was in utter disbelief at Claire's apparent heartlessness. Claire was the nice one, the good one. Or she was supposed to be.

"No? No?" Elle asked.

"She doesn't have your best interests at heart," Mohinder interjected as he began to break free of the ropes around his wrists.

Claire ignored him this time, focusing on the erupting Elle who she knew was just a girl behind all that volatile energy. "You can't kill him. You can't but I'm not going to let him hurt you."

"Oh really? Well, I guess your brain cells don't regenerate like the rest of you does because offering to let him murder me might just hurt, cheerleader," Elle snapped.

Claire nodded quickly, wanting to be sensitive but knowing she was in a race against Elle's rebellious ability. "Trust me, okay. There is no way he is getting away from us. There is no way anyone is getting to you. I wouldn't let that happen. I promise."

It was at that moment the doorbell rang once again.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show "Heroes."

Note: Takes place after "Brave New World." The past takes place after "The Butterfly Effect." Thank you Lied and She-Hulk from the BAM Board.

For a less confusing version of this check my livejournal or

"I guess that's Dad, Joanna and Delilah. I wonder if she's okay," Gretchen said almost to herself as she sprinted to the door before Rene could stop her with a distinct bounce in her step.

She ripped the door open and the smile did not fall from her face but morphed into one of a different kind as she spotted long flowing blonde hair, startling blue eyes and long legs wrapped up in a smart business dress- a little out of place on the beach but not unforgivable. She was not exactly Gretchen's type but she was gorgeous enough that Gretchen could not help but take notice before retreating into shyness.

"C-Can I help you?" Gretchen asked as she clung to the door as if it was a shield.

The woman's broad smile widened. "Hi, my name is Tracy Strauss. I'm looking for Claire Bennet and a Haitian man who is accompanying her."

Gretchen froze and turned to Rene for support. The woman looked friendly enough but Gretchen's employees were on the run from a serial killer. This woman could have been some kind of accomplice tied up in some kind of sexual fueled violence. She saw it on television all the time.

Rene saved her from deciding whether to call the police or invite the woman in for tea when he stepped forward and welcomed her in. "Hello Ms. Strauss."

"Hi. Where's Claire?" The blonde asked the second she crossed past the threshold.

"In my room, right around that corner," Rene said as he pointed a finger in the direction of the bedroom. Tracy nodded and immediately moved where he guided without a moment to pause or acknowledge their presence again. Gretchen moved to follow her but Rene was quick to grab her wrist and hold her in place.

"I think Claire wants me there," Gretchen said though her statement was admittedly pretty thin this time.

"I'm sure that she does not," Rene replied in a firm way he hoped would not hurt the girl and send her into a fit of some emotion or another. Her frown and jittery movements were enough to convince him that she was on the verge of doing just such a thing so he got behind her, grabbed her by the shoulders and guided her back to her room. "I will help you with your project. I believe you were last researching Pink Floyd."

Tracy entered the room with ease, oblivious and indifferent to the tension occurring. "Hello Claire."

Claire reluctantly drew her attention from Elle to show surprise at seeing her chief of PR. "Tracy? What are you doing here?"

"Helping you," Tracy said brightly as she stepped past her. "Headquarters has been worried about your mission performances in the past. When Rene sent correspondence saying that Mohinder had been captured, everyone thought it was best that I come take him in so you could refocus on the mission."

Tracy took Mohinder's face in her hands and tilted his head upwards as she looked at his injuries carefully and assessed the damages. Elle visibly tried to relax and calm down in the face of the stranger that came to take away the man threatening her. Claire however grew from confused to angry at a fast rate.

"What are you talking about? Protecting Elle from Mohinder is the mission." Claire snapped.

"Protecting Elle from Lazarus is the mission," Tracy clarified. "They probably won't attack again if they know we're going to take them in like we did with their comrade here."

"Sounds good to me. Best of luck," Elle said as she put her hand on the doorknob, apparently considering this transaction closed.

Claire was not willing to let things go this easy. She had known her friend Tracy to be pragmatic but she could not possibly be this cut and dry with a terrorist cell. She could not be this way with Claire. "You can't possibly expect him to go with you peacefully. I mean you seem to be by yourself here."

"I'll go willingly because as I said, I'm not an evil person and once I'm brought in I will prove that," Mohinder said as he broke free of his restraints and stood up. Claire realized he had gotten his strength back and broke free during the distraction. That did not reflect well on her given the circumstances.

Tracy did not comment on the matter and was instead quick to defend herself. "Dr. Suresh once tied me to a table so he could run tests on my synthetic abilities, me and your father. I befriended him and at a moment of distraction and vulnerability I used my ability to freeze him. He knows better than to try and escape from me."

She rested her hands on Claire's shoulders, stroking one of the shoulders with her thumb. It was an odd gesture but Claire was careful not to tense up or eye her for it.

"Well, if that's what you think I have to do, that's what I'll do. I guess I'm just overinvested in the matter. I do consider him a friend or I did," Claire said as she glared pointedly at him before turning her head back to the blonde woman with a smile.

"Just one thing," Claire said as she held up an index finger before she strode over to Rene's night stand and grabbed a glass which she presented to Tracy. "Make me a glass of water?"

"What? Seriously? Okay, cheerleader. Obviously, what has been true all along is still true. I am a great company girl and you are seriously not. My God, I am this close to leaving," Elle said as she pinched her fingers together to emphasize her statement.

Claire merely kept her wide smile though her eyes reflected guilt as she looked toward Elle. "You know, that's actually a really good idea. Go hang out with the Haitian. He just lights up when you're around. I'll catch up."

Elle frowned looking something like an adorable puppy dog before she stormed out of the room and headed in search of Gretchen and Rene.

"Thanks," Claire called out before closing the door and pressing her body against it as she faced Tracy and Mohinder. "So, that water?"

"What is with you and the water?" Mohinder asked annoyed. He made no move to hurt her now that he was free of his restraints though. Claire felt that for an evil guy he was really not that bad but perhaps she knew far too many evil guys.

Still, Claire was tempted not to answer him were it not for the room's other occupant also wearing a confused expression. "Well, I happen to know that Tracy is a triplet. She's the one who can make ice and water and so I just want some water as proof that I'm not sending Dr. Suresh home with a Lazarus agent. Is that all right?"

"Of course," Tracy nodded. Claire extended the glass out and Tracy accepted it. Claire was not the least bit scared the glass would be smashed up and used as the weapon against her as she handed it over. She expected at least more grace than that.

Tracy opened her hand with the palm facing up. In a few moments, water began to gather on top of her palm and Tracy cupped the water and tilted it into the glass. Once it was halfway full Tracy handed the glass off to Claire who took a small sip before resting the glass back on the night stand. She opened the door and motioned for the two other people in the room to walk out ahead of her. Relieved, the blonde woman and the brunette man finally left the room.

Elle crept outside of the mansion, ducking low into the sand.

She retrieved the Haitian and told him of Tracy's plans to leave with Mohinder. She told him she would stay with Gretchen and help her with her dorky little power point presentation. She had to hand it to Gretchen, no one ever did anything as nice for her whenever she was hurt. Her father barely checked her bandages, not to mention the torture he inflicted on her when she was a child. Helping the girl out was not worth dying for however.

Elle could not stand anymore of these games. The Haitian was smart and capable and easy on the eyes but he was just as much of a puppet as she was only now he was a puppet for Claire who was no puppet master. She was a barbie. A barbie who would get Elle into trouble like all those other gorgeous Petrelli's. At least Sylar or Peter always knew what their goals were.

Elle had to take matters into her own hands now. She was going to follow Tracy and Mohinder to the extraction point and get herself out of this mess.

She had no idea she would end up traveling so far. Tracy and Mohinder raced across the sand as quickly as possible and Elle had to rush to keep up with them. They kept looking back over their shoulders and Elle had to throw her body in the sand more times than she could count in an attempt to hide. She began to feel as if this escape was more suited for someone of the cheerleader's talents. It was odd that they acted like they were feeling chased by Claire and the Haitian when if anyone was going to be hiding it would be Elle.

After awhile they did not look back as they ran, they just kept running until finally they entered a tent. It did not look like all the carnival tents with all their age and character though it was bigger than a livingroom. Not that she knew much about tents.

She slowed down, thrilled to take her time now that a destination had presented itself. She was relieved as she approached. She was home free and could do all the things that she dreamed of doing. Get back to the vacation life she was deprived of, perhaps see some people on the other side of the timeline, some people she might not admit to wanting to see again.

When she finally reached the tent she saw something that made her freeze. Zach. Zach who claimed to be working on an unrelated circus mission. Tracy could have been checking in on his mission but what was he even doing there?

Elle was quick to get into the shadows and found herself creeping closer to the tent opening where she heard many footsteps moving quickly across the ground.

"Lucky you got him back, Barbara," Elle heard a voice say. It was that flying kid that Claire used to date. West was here? Oh this had to be the evil group.

"Don't give me that attitude, West. We had to run all the way back here just to make sure you didn't pull another stupid stunt," Barbara yelled back at him as she grabbed bandages and began to press them against Mohinder. The woman was called Barbara but she was the person that Claire had called Tracy. Elle quickly deduced that this was Barbara Zimmerman instead of Tracy Strauss. As if her talking and tending to Mohinder was not enough to convince Elle that she was a bad guy, she was also lying about her identity.

This was probably why her father rarely let her out of the house. Her daring escape plan had lead her right to the people she was hiding from without her bodyguards.

There was only one phrase that accurately described her situation as vulgar and generic as it was considering how special she was, "Fuck me." She was worried her whisper was too loud when Zach turned sharply to the open tent flap and she retreated a bit before becoming embarrassed that she was scared of a nerd like Zach.

When she peaked in again the group formed a circle around a blackboard they had inside. She identified almost all of them by name. Mohinder, Barbara, West, Zach and a little blonde girl who matched the description of her accuser. She was probably the one who attacked Delilah and pinned it on Elle.

Elle was instantly enraged but there was little she could do. She never knew whether she was going to fizzle or explode since her incident with Sylar (who sadly looked so much more happy with himself than Gabriel ever did).

This timely reminder that good guys never win could not be more timely as Elle decided to make her escape before she got captured by her captors. Before she could she heard her name being mentioned and just like when her name was mentioned her whole life, she could not help but listening.

"So master planner, we got you out of the house. How do we get Elle?" The little blonde girl asked as she pull a cigarette out of a burlap bag.

'Blondes,' Elle thought with narrowed eyes. If she was not one she would hate them all for sure by this point. Even blond boys like Adam were mean.

"It happens tomorrow night. We'll go to the mansion as a team. We'll go with all of our powers. Knock out the Haitian first. Then we'll grab Elle," Mohinder said as he helped Barbara wrap the bandages around his midsection.

"Claire, will be a problem. From what I saw she's really attached to Elle for some reason I don't really understand. I thought they hated each other before," West said as he took the cigarette from Amanda's fingers before she could light it and tossed it into the sand. She seemed irritated and disappointed from the moment he spoke and only more annoyed when he pilfered the cigarette. He merely smiled at her like she was supposed to adore him and as far as he was concerned she did.

Oh boys. West did not get Amanda's distaste for him and he did not get her and Claire either. Elle may have been socially inept but at least she had an excuse. She was a sociopath for God's sake.

"Claire, won't have a choice. There will be sharing of each other's powers including Claire's and Elle's. Neither girl will be a match for us. We grab Elle, get her back here, toss her in the steamer trunk and have Hiro teleport us home free. No funny stuff. Everyone on the bandwagon?" Zach asked as he survey the faces around the tent and in doing so spotted Elle sprinting across the sand, having heard all she needed to hear which was the mother load.

Zach had a plan for her. One that would change everything.

"I've always been one to jump on the bandwagon," Barbara said as the group gave Zach the eye as he stared off into space. It was then when they all noticed they were looking at him that they all came to the realization that each of them all secretly thought he was just a little off...


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Title: "The Road Not Taken"

Rating: PG-13 probably.

Pairings: Claire/Elle, Claire/Gretchen

Summary: When Claire goes back in time to save Elle, her relationship with Gretchen is threatened.

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show "Heroes."

Note: Takes place after "Brave New World." The past takes place after "The Butterfly Effect." Thank you Lied and She-Hulk from the BAM Board.

To read the fic with proper formatting feel free to go or livejournal.

Claire had just closed the door on Mohinder and his escort when she spun around to find Rene right behind her. She was startled but there was no time to react. In hushed tones she whispered, "So, we agreed if I was outnumbered I would just extract myself from the situation, right?"

"They were both Lazarus," Rene concluded easily.

Claire nodded. "And of course that woman was not Tracy. She was definitely Barbara."

Rene grabbed Claire by the shoulders and guided her to an empty room. Once they were inside he asked, "How could you tell?"

Claire gnawed her bottom lip with her teeth as she thought back to their interaction. "Well, she was over affectionate for one, in a physical sense. She was talking about her past like she read it out of a report. Come to think of it she probably got it all from Mohinder since the story she used was about him. Then last but not least her power was different," Claire said in a rush, knowing the most powerful evidence came at the end.

"Different how?" Rene asked as he leaned his body against a wall.

"Tracy can turn herself into ice and water and she can turn already existing things to ice but she can't make water out of nothing. I asked Barbara for some water and water just appeared on her hand like she was pulling it out of the air. I heard that she had that ability which Tracy doesn't have. I guess she just assumed I wouldn't know the difference," Claire said as she let out a sigh of relief at not getting caught. Her plan to get the truth was a risky one.

"You should have asked for ice water," Rene said but Claire could tell he was joking. One of the rare jokes he ever made.

"I didn't want to upset them into fighting. I was outnumbered. They could have drowned me and gone after Elle and hurt you and Gretchen in the process. I just couldn't risk it," Claire said as she looked down at her shoes, somewhat embarrassed of her weakness. They could very well have drowned Claire but the idea that Mohinder could take on Rene, Elle and bystander Gretchen by himself was ridiculously unlikely. However, Claire still could not risk three people she cared for so much. She knew just how often what seemed incredibly unlikely did actually happen.

Rene put a firm hand on her shoulder and waited to speak until she looked at him. "You did the right thing. You gathered information, identified a criminal and did not escalate the situation with civilians in proximity when it was not necessary. You did everything you were supposed to do. Your father would be proud."

"Yeah?" Claire perked up at the statement.

Rene nodded. "Of course. I'm also proud given the real reason you were put on this mission."

This got Claire's attention as she straightened up and got a suspicious look in her eyes. "What? Tracy– Barbara, said something about my mission performance. I thought that was just a mind game from Lazarus but you guys really don't trust me, do you? I know a lot of people stopped trusting me after I changed things but you guys? You're my family and my friends. How could you not trust me?"

Rene shook his head and crossed his arms across his chest, making him seem so much like her dad with all of his strength and mistrust. "It's not about trust, Claire. It's about helping you."

Claire stepped away from him and fumbled closer to the door. She needed space from the truth and she wanted to run into the arms of... someone. The last thing she needed in that moment was to make that decision. "Well, thanks for the help and finally being honest about how much you don't trust me. It's really super of you, Rene."

"You are the voice of what is now considered an entire race of people," Rene said loudly, stopping Claire in her tracks before she could leave. "People come to you and expect you to defend them and get justice for all their problems. They expect you to feel what they feel and do what they can't. It's a lot of responsibility and something you cannot do when losing touch with your humanity."

Claire looked at him and her green eyes appeared somehow lighter and more innocent when filled with fear of the statement that sounded more like an accusation. It was an accusation she had also turned on herself more than once.

"I'm human," Claire said without a hint of the tremors she was feeling.

Rene smiled sympathetically, not fooled by Claire's tough front by one bit. "I know that. Sometimes, some of us worry that you don't remember. I remember you came to me once, begging me to spare your friend Zach because you felt so isolated, alone and different."

Claire shrugged as she tried to be nonchalant. "All teenagers feel like that, especially ones with powers. It doesn't make me bad at my job."

Rene nodded as he stepped closer to Claire, unwilling to let her escape but he was also unwilling to violate her personal boundaries. "That's true but then you lost the sensation of physical pain and you felt more isolated, more disconnected. You're immortal and could live thousands of years with your only company being Sylar who you refuse to speak to, perhaps Peter if he agreed to hold onto one ability forever which is very unlikely and whatever immortals who did not know you when you were the girl you are now. Everyone's worried you'll get more disconnected, more isolated."

"I'm not an evil person. I never will be despite those who think I already am," Claire said with a glare. Instead of getting space, she was quickly approaching him as he was doing to her. She would not back down.

Rene held his hands up in surrender. He slowly lowered them when Claire crossed her arms and patiently although admittedly irritated waited for him to speak. "Your interrogation today was brilliant. You looked in the face of someone you cared for and turned off your heart to get the truth and were willing to get it by any means necessary. Your father would be proud. It's what he does but he always has his family to ground him."

Claire eased up as he made his point. She was a lot less aggressively defensive when she actually had a defense. "I have family too. I have Peter like you said. I have tons of family and friends. I'm the most popular special in the world after all."

"But you push us all away and you learn to turn off your feelings for us because you're afraid you'll lose us one way or another. You were turning into a great agent but less of a voice of the people, and less of a person yourself, at least less of the person you were," Rene said with sadness continually creeping into his voice the way it would creep into the others. Seeing her pull away to avoid getting hurt was hurting him and everyone else around her. Claire realized it and realized that as she did so she tried so much not so care how he was feeling at the same time.

Rene got a far away look in his eyes. It was so rare that he was vulnerable she was a little in awe during the experience. He had the ability to dig into so many other people's brains in less than a second and she was finally seeing his. She was finally seeing him just like she and many others had always wanted to.

His voice was strong, sure but intoxicating and wistful as he spoke, "when I heard about this mission, I remembered how heartbroken you said you were when Elle died. How you said she made you feel alive. I hoped focusing on saving someone instead of losing them, saving Elle would bring back something in you, some feeling. You've made some missteps but that's why I'm here. I'm your partner. I'll always be there to support you and help you finish the mission. I was more worried about you saving yourself. It's been working. There's a light in your eyes and I don't know if it's Elle or Gretchen causing it or perhaps both of them in this setting but it's there. I know you feel the same way about seeing Elle alive that I do."

Claire thought back on her short time here. Emotions and lust were awakened as well as confusion. She wanted Elle and could not have her and wanted Gretchen and could not have her in the way she wanted. She nearly burst out laughing at the idea of Rene feeling the same.

"Sorry, Rene and I'm just assuming here, but I really doubt you and I have the exact same feelings about seeing Elle again," Claire teased.

Rene did not join in on the laughter but offered her a sad little smile instead. "You know what they say about when you assume."

That caused Claire to freeze. Rene always was the one to find people's secrets. Now he was finally revealing some of his own and Claire could not figure out quickly enough what they meant.

He soon spoke again, rigid like a business man as he patted her shoulders like she was a child he just gave a pep talk to. "The mission is not over. We need to find out what Lazarus is going to do next."

'Subtle transition Rene,' Claire thought to herself before clapping her hands together. "Okay, so we need to figure things out. We have Barbara, Mohinder and what seems to be Amanda Strazzulla."

"And Zach," Rene suggested tentatively.

Claire let out a sigh and ran her hands through her hair. She had to give a little though it still hurt. Perhaps that was what she should have been doing all along. "And maybe, just maybe, it's a long shot but perhaps also Zach."

"That's four. There's probably a fifth. That's how their units work," Rene said and Claire nodded along trusting his judgement before he cleared his throat. Claire took it as a nervous gesture. He often told her things she did not want to hear and he did not want to say but it was rare that he was afraid to tell her something because he was worried about her reaction. Claire was afraid he would mention something along the lines of the end of the world.

Rene finally looked Claire in the eyes. "We should bring Elle into this conversation." At Claire's skeptically raised eyebrow he plowed forward without waiting for her to speak. "She was a company agent for quite awhile. She's read as many files as I have. She has a mind for this kind of thing and could help narrow down the list of potential mercenaries."

Claire shrugged. She would do her best to be more cooperative and sensitive to the needs of those around her if it would help the mission like everyone expected. If Rene wanted Elle on the team, Claire would just deal with it.

"I'll keep Gretchen occupied while you go through all these confidential details with Elle?" Claire suggested. Rene smiled at Claire agreeing to his plan so easily and Claire smiled at him as well.

Claire smacked his arm in a friendly way and wordlessly left the room in search of Gretchen and Elle. Claire was a little proud of herself. Elle would be on her way to California in another 24 hours and Lazarus would not have a chance to find her again and if they somehow did they probably could not get her from Arthur and Sylar and failing that they could not get her from Claire and Rene. Claire and Rene will have successfully protected Elle and as a bonus Gretchen while identifying several Lazarus members in the process. Mission accomplished. The only problem with the rapidly ending mission was she was not sure she could take either one of her girls at then end of it. She could not fathom who she would miss more and did not want to find out anytime soon.

Claire pushed the thought out of her head as she plastered on a smile, swung the bedroom door open and brightly declared, "I'm back to help you with your project, Gretch."

Gretchen eagerly spun around in her computer chair and tucked her hair behind her ears in an effort to make herself more presentable. "Oh great. I could always use some help. This project is so tedious."

Gretchen was smiling ear to ear but Claire's small was not quite as beatific as she noticed that Elle was not in the room with Gretchen.

"Where's Elle? She was supposed to be helping you," Claire said as she began to search the corners of the room as if Elle was playing a game of hide and seek. She was desperate just to find her.

Gretchen frowned at Claire's search for Elle. She had barely paid attention to Gretchen's presence for a few seconds. "Oh, I don't know. She went to get a drink of water and never came back. It's probably her way of dumping me. Most people dump me that way."

Claire shook her head and backed out of the room. Once she was in the hallway she came to herself and immediately ran in search of Rene.

Gretchen chased after her, confused. "I'm sure she's fine Claire. Maybe she's in one of the other rooms."

"Maybe," Claire uttered. The thought had crossed her mind but her instincts were screaming out and she had broken into a cold sweat.

She quickly entered the room where Rene was still waiting and he instantly went on alert by the way she entered. "Elle's gone. She's missing."

"I'm telling you guys, she's probably fine," Gretchen pointed out grumpily from her place in the doorway.

Claire spun around on her with the aggression of a wild animal. "Well, I'm worried about her so excuse me for being human. We're looking for her."

Gretchen stepped back, small parts of her both frightened and hurt by Claire's attitude.

Rene urgently but more kindly stepped forward as well. "Gretchen, could you please search the house for her while Claire and I look outside?"

"Fine," Gretchen said quietly as she immediately disappeared deeper into the house.

Claire and Rene went outside immediately searching around the mansion for footprints. After a few minutes they finally found them but Rene went in search of some more in case they were part of the trail left behind by Mohinder or Barbara.

Claire followed her trail as quickly as she could, breaking into a sprint herself. She occasionally paused noticing bigger indentations in the sand between footprints. As she continued to sprint forward she noticed that two other pairs of footprints were beginning to intersect with the ones she was already following. Fear gripped her heart as she stopped, now terrified that Elle had been caught by Mohinder and Tracy while out on a walk, probably mad at Claire.

She took deep gulping breaths before pulling herself together and continuing to chase the footprints across the sand. The footprints did not indicate that Elle was being dragged away at all but they were all so far away from the mansion after a certain point it was impossible that Elle did not have a destination in mind on this little trek and it was unlikely it was some other place besides wherever Lazarus was headed.

After a certain point Claire stopped and looked back. She had run so far that she was afraid she would never find Elle again. She could not even see the mansion anymore. She regretted that the last time she saw Elle she was so awful and cruel.

Just when she was about to give up hope she spotted a figure running to her and knew instantly that it was Elle. She ran to her and instantly took the girl into a rough hug. It was something Elle was not expecting. She awkwardly pulled herself out of it and lightly punched Claire on the shoulder shyly. Claire was not deterred and looked Elle over for injuries and Elle almost strutted under the appreciative gaze.

"You will not believe what I have to tell you."

Elle told Claire the whole story of her missing time as she followed the Lazarus members to their hideout. Claire was partly angry at Elle running off by herself into a dangerous situation but she was too relieved and guilty to be too mad at her. Claire also shared her side of the story, without the private conversations she and the Haitian shared about the future but that she also identified Barbara as being Barbara and a Lazarus member. Claire could not help the smugness she felt when Elle was begrudgingly impressed.

As they approached the mansion, Gretchen and Rene suddenly burst threw the door and headed straight for Claire and Elle. Rene wore a relieved smile which was particularly emotive by his standards. Gretchen on the other hand looked none too pleased. Claire recognized that look well. It was her look for being angry but not having the words to express it so she just glared.

"Elle, glad to see you're okay," Gretchen said brusquely as she came to a stop in front of the blondes. Claire stopped in front of her but Elle merely sidestepped her and continued toward the house.

"I'm sure it is," Elle quipped with a roguish grin as she marched on toward the house. "Glad to be okay."

Gretchen huffed as she spun around and began to chase Elle towards the mansion, struggling to keep in step with her and keep the emotion out of her voice. "Well, my family is home. Delilah is fine by the way."

"That's nice," Elle said as she reached the house and reached for the doorknob.

Gretchen stepped in front of the door and spread her limbs out to block Elle from entry. "Well, that means we need to have a talk right now to avoid disturbing the family later on."

"It can wait," Elle said as she reached for the doorknob once again.

Gretchen caught her hand to stop her progress. Elle took her hand back. Gretchen did not let the action stop her, nor the little look Elle shot Claire and the Haitian afterwards. In fact, the way she looked at Claire as if expecting Claire to take her side over Gretchen's only served to further urge Gretchen to continue.

"It can't wait actually," Gretchen said. "I'm dumping you."


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Title: "The Road Not Taken"

Rating: PG-13 probably.

Pairings: Claire/Elle, Claire/Gretchen

Summary: When Claire goes back in time to save Elle, her relationship with Gretchen is threatened.

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show "Heroes."

Note: Takes place after "Brave New World." The past takes place after "The Butterfly Effect." Thank you Lied and She-Hulk from the BAM Board. If the formatting confuses you please go to my livejournal or .

Rene ushered them all inside. Claire explained that arguing outside offended his sensibilities. Gretchen was still irritated but nodded and acquiesced. Claire figured she had heard weirder things in her life. Elle merely smothered a chuckle and followed Gretchen in as she waited for Claire to come up with a plan to get her out of this break up situation.

Once they were inside Rene crossed his arms also waiting for this all to unfold so they could get down to business. Claire and Elle knew things were more urgent than even he realized. Tension radiated between them and Gretchen was emotional enough to think it was because of the damage she caused by dumping Elle but she was too filled with jealousy to be courteous much longer. Claire looked between all of them and was at a loss for how to draw out the union between Gretchen and Elle and was not sure she wanted to anymore.

Instead Claire merely said, "Well, I'll let you guys talk this out. The Haitian and I will be in the kitchen if you need anything."

Claire gestured for him to follow her and walked out of the hallway leaving an agape Elle behind her. Elle turned back to Gretchen and removed the slack jawed expression from her face, combing back her hair to appear dignified. Elle had one previous breakup and it ended with a murder that she helped to orchestrate. She could not do worse than that, right?

Gretchen began walking to her room without a word and Elle did not know if that was an invitation or if she was just supposed to leave but she ended up following her anyway. Claire did mention them talking. She just hoped the cheerleader was not taking credit for all of her daring discoveries with the Haitian. Even Elle's daddy would have been proud with something like what Elle accomplished that night.

With a new spring in her step Elle finally made it back to Gretchen's room. Gretchen was not smiling the way Elle was and Elle wondered if she should pretend to feel bad but decided not to pretend. Gretchen was the most normal person that Elle had actively interacted with for quite some time and that thought was enough to make Elle sad again.

"Well, we're over and I think that's all I need to say," Gretchen said as she had a seat on her desk. She sat there and stared at Elle as if she was waiting for the blonde to say something.

Elle had to admit that Gretchen was at least being straightforward and concise. There really was nothing else to say and Elle could care less about the end of a fake relationship with a person she was not interested in. However, something was still nagging at her and she figured she might as well ask about it.

"Why are you breaking up with me exactly? What did I do?" Elle asked.

In the other room, Claire was relaying the information Elle gave her about the group. Rene began to make a diagram on a piece of paper.

"So, this coming night Lazarus will attack. It will be Mohinder, Barbara, Amanda, Zach and West against you, Elle and I?" Rene asked as he drew five X's across from three O's.

Claire nodded sadly as she peered at the diagram over his shoulder. "That's right. I can't believe it. I've met like every single person on that list. Zach was one of the first friends I ever made. I'm still friends with West on facebook."

"You can rectify that when we get back," Rene said as he stared at the drawing. Claire shot him a look for making fun of her pain but he ignored it and she let it drop.

"The first thing we need to think about is evening out the odds," Rene said as he crossed out one of the X's on the paper.

Gretchen pursed her lips and made a few of those strange expressions that Elle noticed both Claire and Gretchen made. Her eyes flitted back and forth before she finally looked right into Elle's eyes and answered. "I just don't think we like each other as much as people who are dating should."

Elle was surprised at the answer. Perhaps Gretchen was not as mad or naive as Elle originally suspected. She was ironically tempted to stay in the cocoon of a fake relationship based on the sheer honesty of it. She used to like the lies. It was all spy work and superheroes. She had one of the most precious secrets in the world and most of the world would never be important enough to know it. It meant that she was important. At least once upon a time.

Then she learned that not being in on the secrets could hurt like when her daddy lied to her about just about everything or when Peter would pretend to be a good puppy but then would lie to her in the end. It was like when the Haitian was around with all his secrets, none that he would share. It also hurt to be part of the secret when she could not share it with who she wanted. She learned that the hard way with Gabriel before she broke him. She could have let him die in a clock shop but she kept him alive and all the secrets killed him until there was nothing left but Sylar. She was worried that would happen to her now that she was on her own. She was more worried it already had happened.

"Well fine," Elle said blandly before narrowing her eyes at Gretchen. "Does that mean you want me to leave now?"

Gretchen looked equally confused about what was going to happen next but perhaps it was because she never heard that question before. "I think that would be best."

"Well, I don't think that would be emotionally best for me. I have such strong feelings, you know about..." Elle tried hard to do that great acting she knew she could always use on a mark, "you."

Gretchen blinked for a second, seemingly faltering before standing up and shaking her head. "You know what? No. I know what's going on here."

Elle almost laughed but knew that would be inappropriate. That did not stop her from wanting to know what Gretchen thought she was talking about just for entertainment's sake. "You do?"

"You like Claire," Gretchen accused. Before Elle had a chance to respond Gretchen continued to blurt out, "which doesn't really work for me because I like Claire and since we both like her and not each other we need to be broken up and you need to be away from Claire."

Elle had no choice but to stare at Gretchen as she made a weak shooing motion with her hands as if she could brush Elle's presence out of her house by sheer force of will. If she did have that ability Elle could at least understand Claire's fascination with her. Gretchen could be just as abrupt, rude, and awkward as Elle if not more so- actually definitely more so in Elle's opinion. The condescension only served to remind her of her "departed daddy" which only served to aggravate her further.

Elle felt a spark crawl against her skin for a split second causing her to nearly stop breathing as she decided what to do to Gretchen. Gretchen merely blinked, confused for a moment before shaking out of it, convinced she did not see anything. Elle deflated realizing she could not give her a good shock or mind wipe for her remarks but knew she had to move quick to keep Gretchen from analyzing and obsessing about something she could potentially consider a trick of light or her eyes failing her.

Elle decided she had to say something whether or not it turned out to be the truth. She did not know a lot about feelings and certainly could not pick out what exactly she felt for Claire with her aggravating sweetness and beauty and kisses and her evil dad who was way more evil than Elle's daddy ever was. Of all the things she was feeling, she picked out the one emotion that she thought Gretchen would want to hear. "I don't like Claire. I hate Claire."

"Yeah right." Gretchen crossed her arms, unwavering in the belief that she could read Elle so well, the lightning she thought she saw already forgotten.

Elle's lips curled into a smirk. 'People without abilities are so easy.'

"Even if we do manage to knock out two of the Lazarus members with Elle's power, we still have another tactical problem," Rene said as he drew things on the diagram.

Claire did not have to look at his scribbles to know what he was referring to. "The Bergs. They could wander out, get hurt or see something. Even if they didn't they'd notice that we were missing, finishing our run as the most suspicious and incompetent maid and butler ever."

Rene put down his pen and stepped back. He relaxed his posture as he began to think. "We could bring the fight to Lazarus but we won't know the terrain that well or what weapons they have on hand. It would put us outnumbered and at a greater disadvantage."

Claire put her finger to her chin as she thought about whether or not she could go through with the plan forming in her head. All this time she thought her feelings for Elle and Gretchen were a weakness but her earlier conversation with Rene showed that thinking with her heart more was exactly what she needed. "I may have something."

Rene livened up, not having to say that he was all ears. Claire knew he was thinking it.

Claire paused and chuckled to herself before shoving her hands in the pockets of her uniform. "Let's just say it involves making a strength out of one of my weaknesses."

"So, you don't like Claire but you're off helping her with paintings and trying to see her all the time and having dreams about her," Gretchen accused with her index finger poking Elle in the chest.

Elle would have been upset but her anger gave way to confusion. "Dreaming about her? I never said I was dreaming about her."

Gretchen froze and retracted her outstretched finger as she frowned self-consciously. "Oh right. That was me, but still. The evidence speaks for itself."

Elle shook her head as she readied herself to jump back into the argument. She took a moment to size Gretchen up like she did many of the loathsome people she had to talk to on missions. She was her daddy's girl and as such she could never get caught off guard by anyone. She would take them in and their surroundings and just know that she could take them all on by herself. Sizing herself up against Gretchen did not seem fair to Elle. It was like a brave pitbull against a puppy.

Elle crossed her arms and paced the room. She was in character. She could be anything she wanted even if it was only pretend. "I may like Claire but I don't need her. I could have anybody."

"I know you could," Gretchen laughed.

Elle narrowed her eyes at the laughter. She was ready to defend herself, list all the ways she had the upper hand when she noticed Gretchen averting her eyes nervously, taking furtive appreciative gazes at Elle. Gretchen actually envied Elle, was threatened by her without Elle have to cause a single spark. She did not know how Elle made a living, what her intelligence was, she did not know her true motivations or desires but she somehow found Elle great just the way she was, without the abilities or the special world even being a factor. No one ever believed in Elle and suddenly someone did. How could she walk away from something like that? She suddenly did not just want to beat Gretchen. She wanted to impress her.

"Yeah, I've had quite the exciting past. There was once this British guy who could not keep his hands off me," Elle bragged as she thought back to that moment wistfully. When she was eighteen Adam tried to stick his hand up her skirt. She burned it off and got to watch the arm grow back. It was the beginning of a lot of fun games for Elle- Adam enjoyed them a little less but who cared. He was mean.

"Well, that's great for you. I mean I've never dated a British guy but I love 'Red Dwarf' and 'Doctor Who,'" Gretchen said, throwing off Elle with her suddenly supportive tone. Her motivation became clear with what she said next as she clapped her hands together with her best sales grin. "You know if you like guys I'm sure you could get someone like Claire's Haitian friend?"

The thought stopped Elle cold. It was something as shocking as getting hit in the face with a pie. Her whole life went on pause as she tried to wrap her brain around that suggestion. It was simply something that never crossed her mind. "Umm... what?"

"Well, he's a guy and with muscles," Gretchen explained dumbly, taking a moment to weakly flex like she had any muscles.

Elle stopped and took a step away from Gretchen as she pretended to evaluate this ludicrous suggestion. "Okay, well, guy with muscles and we know he's employed. I guess that's all a gal like me needs, huh? I mean, what more could anyone else want?" Her thinly veiled sarcasm gave way to outright defensiveness. "I happen to come from a wealthy family myself, you know. I'm not just some girl who needs a big strong man to protect me."

Gretchen was never one to back down from a confrontation. At least until the adrenaline settled and her brain and cowardice remembered to kick in. Despite that she had Elle's accusatory tone coming, she could not resist saying what she thought.

"Well, if that's not what you want, what do you want? Because I don't think you know," Gretchen said with a shrug of her shoulders as if giving up in that moment to figure that question out.

Elle faltered for a moment and let her mouth hang open before she had words to fill it. She was a little lost lately but she would not let Gretchen get the better of her. "Like you know what you want?"

Gretchen nodded. "Yes, I've made it clear. I want Claire."

"Present," Claire sing-songed as she breezed into the room. She froze almost immediately as both girls eyes pinned her. Taking initiative she strode toward Elle and wrapped her fingers around Elle's arm before flashing her best dazzling smile on Gretchen.

"Can I borrow Elle for a sec?" Claire asked.

Gretchen squirmed for a minute before uncomfortably squeaking, "sure."

Claire was painfully aware of the tension in the room though not the cause as she ushered Elle out into the hall. She tossed one last smile over her shoulder which she hoped would soothe Gretchen even a little. Gretchen offered a little half smile of her own. Satisfied, Claire closed the door behind her.

"You guys were talking for a long time. What's going on?" Claire whispered as she leaned closer to Elle, taking a moment for her eyes to caress Elle's lips.

"This and that, here and there. I said a little more than a planned to but didn't blow her head off like I want to," Elle admitted as she glared at the door though she could not see Gretchen on the other side.

Claire panicked and grabbed Elle a little tighter as she asked, "what? What did you say?"

"Nothing important, you know, why we were breaking up... you, how you and I happen to hang out a lot, my relationship history, how I should perhaps date the Haitian-" Elle listed off as if it was nothing but by the time Rene entered the list of topics Claire could no longer listen as the blood began to pound in her ears and the color had left her face. Claire could not believe she was so selfish and territorial.

She took a moment to right herself in her head as she found a spot on the wall and breathed in. The occupants of the mansion were not hers. They were her friends. Despite the idea of the Haitian seeming so mature to her, he was around Elle's age. What he did or did not want and what Elle did or did not want even hypothetically were no concern of Claire's. She took a moment to remember that.

When she returned her eyes to Elle she noticed Elle looking at her with an amused grin, no doubt assuming Claire was much more mentally unstable than she ever was. Claire blushed in response which made Elle grin even wider.

"What brought all that up?" Claire asked as she tried to change the subject.

Elle stared for a moment as if trying to decide whether to let Claire off the hook before finally relenting and moving her gaze back to Gretchen's door. "I don't know, we were just talking and it got out of hand. I ended up talking a lot but I kept some of my relationship secrets."

"From your thousands of relationships?" Claire teased, secretly fearing that Elle had mentioned Claire kissing her.

"And just how many relationships have you had?" Elle shot back as she stepped toward Claire playfully. "The only ones I remember are flying boy, gay kid and that quarterback."

Claire winced at the memory of her almost rapist and the feeling got worse as Elle continued to speak. "Meanwhile, I have garnered the attention of several men in... the workplace, a guy named Gabriel and well... your uncle."

Claire swallowed the lump in her throat. What did in the workplace mean? If her dad hit on Elle she might keel over and die where she stood. He did fall for Lauren at the workplace after all. Then there was Sylar and Peter. Forget her dad, if Nathan met Elle he absolutely made a pass at her. Leave it to Claire to become involved with a woman who was total Petrelli bait. Claire felt a little sick at all these scenarios but she certainly was not disgusted with Elle.

She could see Elle was waiting to see if after all they had been through together, Claire was finally willing to let go of the uncle thing or her other confessions. She did not want Elle to feel uncomfortable so she finally loosened her grip and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Listen, I'm going to take care of this so we can go kick some Lazarus butt. You go to the Haitian and actually go to him this time. I might lose it if you sneak out again," Claire said, letting her worry show. She did not want to guilt trip Elle because she did not think that was possible but it would be nice if Elle knew she was concerned. Elle seemed to as she bobbed her head and began to walk in the direction that Claire pointed.

Claire then turned and headed back into the room, putting on a smile for Gretchen who was sitting on her bed despondently. Claire took a seat next to her and slid her hand into Gretchen's. "Hey, everything okay?"

"Yeah," Gretchen said, still not looking up.

Claire debated what to do. If Gretchen wanted to talk she would either talk or wait so long to talk that she would erupt.

"Did Delilah like her present?" Claire asked.

Gretchen shrugged just barely. "I only got to put a couple of songs on before I had to set it up. She was so tired she just went right to sleep. Probably didn't even notice it."

"I'm sure she appreciated it." Claire offered but Gretchen was unresponsive. Claire decided to push forward. "I talked to Elle and she's taking the breakup really hard. She never really dated before and she's kind of homeless. Her dad just died and I don't even know about her mom. I don't think you know what you meant to her."

This brought Gretchen's eyes back to Claire, a mixture of sympathy and wonder in them. "Really?"

"Yeah really. You're a great girlfriend," Claire said honestly. She did not know how many times she could say it to make up for not saying more often when Gretchen deserved to hear it. "I think she needs a friend right now."

Gretchen looked happy and sad at the same time or perhaps scared or something else that Claire could not pull out. "So, you're friends. Like you're not together, then?"

Claire did not know what to say. How could she lie when she did not even know the truth? "She didn't become my girlfriend the second she walked out that door. No. I would never do that to you."

Gretchen smiled and Claire remembered she was supposed to be talking up Elle but it was hard to remember the mission's priority at moments like this.

Gretchen blushed under the attentive gaze and alluring words. "Well, I'm sorry that Elle isn't taking things so well. Anything I could do to help?"

Claire could not help but notice that happy glow that had taken over Gretchen's features. She had no concept of tact but the compliment seemed to put her in a good mood that Claire happened to find endearing at this point. It could even prove helpful.

"Look, Elle's got a plane ticket to California tonight. She's got someone there," Claire explained, careful to leave out that the person Elle had was her. "She'll be at the airport tonight but she has nowhere to go today and... You know, I feel completely stupid and awful and inappropriate for asking this of you. It's too much. I'm just going to go."

Claire moved to get up and remove her hand from Gretchen's but Gretchen held onto her, not letting her go. Gretchen looked at their clasped hands before looking at Claire's face. When she spoke she had made a decision. "Ask me. I'll do whatever- just ask me."

"Could Elle hang out here today?" Claire asked, bracing herself for either outcome.

"Yeah, of course," Gretchen said enthusiastically, looking incredibly pleased with herself once Claire rewarded her with a smile.

"Really?" Claire asked. Gretchen nodded and Claire threw her arms around Gretchen's neck and pulled her down into a hug that Gretchen eagerly relaxed into. Claire pulled back and looked into her eyes proudly. Gretchen had such a hard time sharing Claire but occasionally this loyal person came through and it was hard not to love that person.

Gretchen nodded again and cleared her throat. "My dad has wanted to meet with some of his friends who live on this island. I could suggest we go and see them all today. Give you guys some space. No day but today right?"

"Thank you," was Claire's simple response.

"It's cool. I'll go tell them right now. Leave them a note. Something," Gretchen said awkwardly as she quickly left the room.

Claire wondered if Gretchen was expecting some reward for completing her task but was distracted from that when she saw something outside the transparent walls of the mansion. A figure was lumbering to the mansion before collapsing into the sand.

"Zach."


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Title: "The Road Not Taken"

Rating: PG-13 probably.

Pairings: Claire/Elle, Claire/Gretchen

Summary: When Claire goes back in time to save Elle, her relationship with Gretchen is threatened.

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show "Heroes."

Note: Takes place after "Brave New World." The past takes place after "The Butterfly Effect." Thank you Lied and She-Hulk from the BAM Board and dezirose417 and alexfoster451 on livejournal. For formatted version go to incandescentfire or livejournal.

"Zach, just hold on," Claire said as she pressed towels onto his wounds. They appeared to be some of the nicer beach towels in the Bergs possession but she really had no choice in the matter.

Rene rushed out before she did, already cutting across the sand to reach him before she even noticed him outside. He tossed Zach over his shoulder fireman style and brought him inside the house and deposited him in Claire's room. In the meantime Claire ran and got some towels from the linen closet. Rene left the room as Claire returned.

So, there Claire was doing the duty that Rene left her to do while Elle and Rene ran around keeping an eye on the Bergs. Claire's eyes searched for something to complete her task when she spotted something metallic that was not completely covered in blood. It was a knife clipped to his belt, much like the one Rene had on his own belt.

Without giving that matter another thought, Claire quickly detached the knife from his belt. She flipped it open and slit her left wrist in one fluid motion. The blood dripped quickly for a few moments into Zach's open wound before slowing and stopping. By the time she was done cleaning the blood off of her arm Zach was gasping for air.

Claire took a seat next to the bed and calmly waited for him to catch his breath. She tried not to think too much about how time had taken the shine off miracles for her when he finally opened his eyes.

"So, what happened?" Claire asked conversationally. She was careful to reserve judgement in her tone.

He looked at her with his eyes shining with fear and confusion, his scruffy almost beard matted with excess blood. "They found out the truth. That I was hiding something."

"What were you hiding?" Claire asked. She was not trying to interrogate him, just talk to her friend.

"They found out I was the mole. The power sharer." Zach said. Claire's heart jumped as her eyes fixed on him. "They found out that your dad planted me in the organization. I'm the Lazarus mole."

"He's telling the truth," Rene said from behind Claire. She quickly looked between the both of them for a moment in utter disbelief. Her former nerdy best friend was a big damn hero. How far they had all come.

She realized that Zach and Rene were both waiting for her to say something. After a moment she finally stopped bobbing her head between them and settled back on Zach's face. "So, just to be clear, you're not a bad guy?"

It was not hard to convince Zach to stay lying down in Claire's bed as they got rid of the Bergs. Rene arranged for a boat to come pick them up and Gretchen jovially ushered her family out the door with a smile and a wink to Claire.

When she was the last one left she hung back, leaning on the side of the doorframe. Claire knew that time was of the essence so she made sure to be quick as she addressed Gretchen.

"Thanks again for doing this," Claire said, swinging her skirt part of her uniform back and forth.

"It's no problem," Gretchen said nonchalantly before a devilish smile crept onto her face which Claire hoped was against her will as she said, "Just make sure poor Elle gets over me, okay? It must be hell for her."

Claire nodded as she stifled a chuckle despite the circumstance. "I'll do my best."

Gretchen smirked before lightly dusting Claire's hand with her own. "Seriously, if you need me, just call my cell. I'll be here just as fast as I can be."

Claire swallowed at the sensation of Gretchen's lingering touch still on her hand. Instead of finding more words that would get her into more trouble simply nodded.

Gretchen flitted her fingers in a wave goodbye and Claire quickly closed the door behind her. She breathed a sigh of relief knowing that the Bergs would soon be safe and away before going to retrieve Zach.

He got up quickly and was in less shock than Claire would have expected. She did know that coming back from the dead had quite an affect on some people. She could still remember that much at least.

It took a moment for her to realize her entire room was packed up. Not that she had things all over the place but even her maid uniforms were put away. Claire walked to her bag and unzipped it to indeed find all her clothes in there, along with her maids uniform and the background reports the agency and Gretchen did on her. It was her entire existence in the Berg's world all cramped into a bag.

"Rene's already packed. He took Elle to the hotel to get her things," Zach explained as he watched Claire search to find that all her identification was left inside. It was odd that when she should not have trusted Zach she was filled unquestionable trust but now that he was trustworthy she could not help but wonder about his loyalties. Everything just felt so serious now. Claire had been through enough battles big and small that she could feel when something was coming. It felt like everything was coming to a head. It was like electricity under her skin and not pleasant and exciting like Elle's. It was just a feeling, always there, waiting for something to happen.

"I could have taken her to her hotel," Claire said when she faced him after a moment of realizing she had not said anything in awhile.

"I think Rene thought that you plus Elle plus a bed equals you guys never leaving said bed," Zach said with a smirk.

Claire gasped, somehow offended but when Zach raised an eyebrow that was more of a dare to deny even some truth of the statement, Claire dropped her shock and shrugged. "So, that's a change that happened since Odessa."

Zach nodded along, a grateful smile at Claire's statement. He had always hoped for his friend back. "Yeah, I guessed. Welcome to the team."

Claire laughed and sat on the bed next to him, bumping shoulders. She turned to him and adopted a playful tone, "So, how did you end up here?"

Zach shrugged and scratched the tattoo behind his ear. She had seen him do it before and had a feeling the tattoo made him uncomfortable in someway.

"Well, I tried to go back to my normal life after you disappeared but it was just hard. I couldn't unknow what I knew and I couldn't stop missing my best friend and pretty much the only friend I have ever had really. I started researching all kinds of stuff having to do with Suresh's book. Then this rebel kid started messaging me saying he knew what I was doing and asking for help to do more," Zach explained.

Claire smiled knowingly as she interrupted, "Micah Sanders. The technopath. Yeah, I worked for him too."

Zach smiled at the connection. They both ended up superheroes after all. "Anyway, I was sent all over Texas and a couple neighboring states, helping people out and making contacts. When you outed everyone I rounded up all my contacts and headed out on Micah's orders. I ended up meeting more people, helping more people, speaking out for people to accept those with abilities when I ran into your dad and the Rene."

That statement shocked Claire though it did fit into the story. She brought her hands to her face and made a glasses motion with them just to confirm it was indeed her father who put him in that position. Zach tilted his head in the affirmative.

"He was suspecting certain people with outspoken opposition to your announcement of conspiring against you. He thought I knew enough people but was also unknown by enough people that if it got around that I opposed you, I could be recruited and I was," Zach finished as he looked to Claire for a reaction.

She paused for a moment with a far away look in her eyes as she processed the information before wincing a little as she spoke, "I kind of meant how did you end up here?... Like here."

"Oh," Zach said blushing slightly. It felt nice that he finally had a story of his own instead of just being the once friend to the interesting person. It seemed to have gotten away with him.

"Well, when you jumped off the ferris wheel it was not the first time that you pissed people off. You were an enemy in alternate timelines where abilities were known to the public. The first time is when the people who would become Lazarus first started jumping through time. It was originally a little group but they came upon a time when you and Elle were standing idly by next to a boy that appeared to be tearing the world apart with the power of his mind," Zach said grimly.

Claire pulled back with her brow scrunched up in confusion. "Okay, so there was some timeline not even related to this one where it was me and Elle and a little boy causing the end of the world and that's why they're attacking me now? Did they seriously think I would be party to something like that? How could that even happen?"

Claire remembered Peter telling her he went to an alternate future where she was trying to kill him. She could never believe it. She could never be a part of a group that killed other people just for the fun of it. It was not who she was.

Zach took Claire's hand in his. "I don't know. I'm sorry. I know that it's confusing. I guess they thought for whatever reason that you and Elle were an item and that whoever this boy was..."

A piece of the puzzle came together for Claire. "They thought the boy was our child."

"They figured the only way to stop it was to get rid of one of the people who ended up at that moment and only one of you wasn't invincible..." Zach trailed off.

Claire's eyes darkened considering the implications that she did not want to let in but she could not resist the thought anymore. "They murdered Elle because of me?"

"They think they're heroes," Zach rasped as angry tears stung Claire's eyes.

"I don't believe this. This can't be true. Things can't be this awful," Claire said as she wiped at her eyes.

"They set up a series of circumstances that lead you away from each other and lead her to her death." After a moment Zach continued, "There's more."

If looks could kill Zach would be a dead man with the look that Claire shot him. The anger at what they did to Elle was bubbling up inside of her and whatever knowledge Zach was keeping from her could not get much worse but could send her over the edge.

"What else?" Claire hissed after a moment.

Zach gulped before continuing. "They went back after you jumped off the ferris wheel this time and found you in the same position but this time with Gretchen at your side. They thought a more direct solution would work so..."

A strangled cry erupted from Claire's throat and she quickly grasped a hand over her mouth in hopes of keeping it all inside, to keep her from shattering. She knew that Gretchen was probably murdered by Lazarus but she never assumed it was because of something she did wrong. She loved Elle and Gretchen and they both died and it was her fault. In the months following her revealing powers to the world she had heard from many people including Peter that she thought everything was about her when really it was not. Claire had gotten to believing them but now more blood was on her hands and it hurt more than ever. It was all about her. It was all her fault.

Claire dissolved in that moment, just broke. Zach wrapped his arms around her and let her breakdown. For a moment she just needed to cry and forget everything, even how to put herself together again.

"We need to kill these guys," Claire said before taking a sip of her coffee.

Rene and Elle did not so much as raise their eyebrows at the statement as they entered the kitchen. Rene dropped Elle's bags in the pile atop Claire and Rene's bags (Zach having forfeited his possessions as he fought for his escape).

They each took a seat on the stool opposite Claire and Zach before Rene said, "Killing them should be a last resort."

Claire set her coffee cup gently down on the table as she fought her knee jerk annoyance at the idea of Lazarus escaping without punishment. She was too dazed to put in much emotion but did offer some explanation of her feelings. "We have to make sure they were taken care of immediately. They're coming for Elle tonight and they've been planning for quite a long time according to Zach. Zach is not even safe anymore now that they know what a threat he is."

"They saw me looking at something outside, when I wouldn't tell them what I saw, which was you incidently," Zach said as he looked at Elle who just blinked at him, "West chased after me, Barbara tried to drown me but I ran away before Mohinder could hold me down. He did punch me a few times though and with super strength that's no joke. I tried climbing a tree and Amanda exploded it. I think they think I'm dead."

"Then you're safe," Elle chirped with a smile before clasping her hands together. "Meanwhile, if they're that incompetent I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Unless they explode you," Claire said with a tense smile before relenting a little. The last thing she wanted to do was scare Elle. All she wanted to do was make things up to her even if they had not happened yet. This still felt like her fault and she did not know what she would do if she lost her relationship with Elle because of it. "Lazarus is a group of 100 mercenaries who travel through time to kill people and play with the time line and they're looking to expand their membership. They are extremely dangerous because not only are they all powerful but they believe in what they're doing. They think they're heroes."

"Then what chance do we have on our own?" Elle asked for the first time seeming scared since the talk began.

Claire reached out and stroked Elle's shoulder, letting the warmth warm her inside and out. "We have an advantage. No one has been able to catch Lazarus because they're so covert they only openly contact members outside their cell twice a year. There's never enough communication to trace."

Rene picked up Claire's thought. "That means if we stop Mohinder, Barbara, Amanda and West now no one will come after Elle until she's back in safe custody."

"That sounds a lot like ifs and maybes but at least no one's life is at stake. Oh wait," Elle said sarcastically as she eyed the whole group.

Claire took this opportunity to stand up and face the group. She needed to deliver a message to everyone including herself.

"Listen, I know it's a scary time. We're up against forces that want us dead or worse. They want us to lose people we care about and even love," Claire said as she took a moment to lock eyes with each person at the table. "It seems were against an army and all there is on our side is us, the four of us. It seems like they're never going to stop. We need to remember that is not true. They will stop. We will stop them. Each of us has faced so much in the last few days alone, nevermind our whole lives. We fight and we come back and we fight and we come back. What's the point? This is. We are. We fight for ourselves, because it's the right thing to do. They fight because it's the right thing to do. We both think we're right and time will tell who is but I feel right today. I know we're going to win because nothing has stopped us yet and if that's true nothing ever will. We'll fight for friends, family, love and the whole world just like we've done time and time again. I don't know about you all but I've never lost a fight this big and I don't plan to start today. We're going to win because it's impossible for us to lose."

Claire waited for someone to correct her and tell her she was crazy and unrealistic but no one did. For the first time since she revealed her powers to the world she was completely unquestioned.

Finally Rene spoke. "So, what's the plan?"

They gathered their bags and headed out of the mansion to meet their enemy before they reached the mansion. It felt like a death march as though they were optimistic, they were leaving everything, possibly for the last time.

"That was quite the rousing speech, cheerleader," Elle whispered to her so the boys wouldn't hear.

Claire also craved some privacy and did not mind the talk. "I believe it. Every word. You're going to be okay, Elle."

Elle nodded and looked down at her shoes before looking up at Claire again. "I know and I just wanted to thank you in case we die. I didn't know you care that much about me."

Claire thought about how to put into words how much she cared about Elle while convincing her they were not going to die when Elle's lips suddenly met her own. It was a kiss full of a lot of firm pressure but it was nice just to feel anything.

When they parted Claire rested her hands on Elle shoulders. "This is not the end of the world. We're fine. I believe that."

Elle smiled while color filled her cheeks before disappearing from Claire's embrace to help Rene with the bags. Claire watched them for a minute before a strong feeling overcame her.

"I have just one more thing to do," Claire said, holding up her index finger for emphasis. The group nodded resolutely as they gathered their things to head out. Seeing that she would get no argument she let her finger hang in the air no more and turned and headed back into the house.

She raced through the halls of the mansion. They were already becoming a blur to her as she blew past them. They were going to be history to her if they did not make it back but Claire insisted that they would. She ran through with one singular thought on her mind.

When she burst through the door to Gretchen's room she found the laptop left on and open and sighed in relief. She walked over and put her hands to the keys without taking a seat out of urgency. Her fingers had hit the keys before she realized she had no idea what she was going to say or why she felt the need to say it especially at a time when she needed to be focusing. She just knew there was something inside of her that needed to get out before she could fully lose herself in the battle to come. She let her fingers hit the keys and do what they may.

'Gretchen,

I know I haven't been the best friend to you or anything else but that does not mean I don't care. In fact I care a lot. The feelings I have you do not match the treatment I have given you. I know it sounds crazy but I think the world is going to end tomorrow. My world at least. If it does I want you to know that I do more than care about you and always have.

Goodbye,

Claire'

'I love you,' Claire thought to herself as she closed the laptop. She was supposed to leave no trace of her existence but could not walk away from Gretchen that way. It was time to say goodbye to all she knew. With that she turned and walked away into what could be her final death sentence.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Title: "The Road Not Taken"

Rating: PG-13 probably.

Pairings: Claire/Elle, Claire/Gretchen

Summary: When Claire goes back in time to save Elle, her relationship with Gretchen is threatened.

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show "Heroes."

Note: Takes place after "Brave New World." The past takes place after "The Butterfly Effect." Thank you Lied and She-Hulk from the BAM Board. For formatted version go to incandescentfire or livejournal.

Claire was not sure if Zach's new power was in effect yet but she could swear she felt electricity in the air. It was that feeling that was different than the sparks Elle managed to create both inside and out. It was a feeling of something that was coming and they were connected to it without even seeing it.

Four dots appeared across the sand that would soon become the enemies they were fighting. It was four against four. Claire would not walk to them. She could not speak for the others but she was unwilling to walk toward them and indulge this fight that they started against the ones she loved and all the futures she could have cherished. Her side was equipped with immortality. They had all the time in the world. She refused to walk to them.

Soon, they were all recognizable. Mohinder, the trusted doctor who had been there from the day their powers surfaced. West, her ex-boyfriend who she cared for and trusted so much. He used to be the one who made things okay. Amanda, the poor kid who got lost in the shuffle, who she could not support in her time of need. Barbara who looked so much like two women she admired and cared about. They were all so recognizable and unrecognizable from who Claire knew them to be.

Then they were only five feet away and came to a stop. No visible weapons were carried by either side but then what would be the point?

"You know why we're here," Mohinder said obviously. He was not running away scared. He was resigned to his fate.

"We do," Rene said. Unlike Mohinder he was a man of little words but his words in this case were full of menace. Claire would have liked to say she felt safe but in these days of shifting loyalties and loved ones at risk it was hard for the bulletproof girl to feel even slightly safe.

It was ridiculous even attempting to talk this out. They all knew where this conversation was leading but Mohinder always felt like he was one of the good guys. He probably felt the need to at least try to resolve this peacefully though if he used his famous logical brain he would know it was futile. At least someone had hope.

"We will be taking Elle," Mohinder said, his tone remorseful.

Elle merely smiled condescendingly at her once partner in company crime and let the electricity crackling in her palm unsettle him before speaking. "I don't think you will be."

Claire looked down at her own hand where sparks were materializing. It was no longer this enigmatic, mysterious, sexy thing that glowed away the mundane. It felt as much a part of her as her own ability. A current continued between her thumb and forefinger and felt like it belonged there. Like the electricity was holding her together. It felt alive inside of her, offering a steady hum in her gut.

It made everything silent until the moment she saw them charging toward her. Mohinder was headed for Rene on her left. To her immediate right Barbara lunged for Elle with both hands. West charged at Zach with such force she would think impossible without superpowers. Claire herself was being lunged at by the furious Amanda. Poor Lydia's daughter.

Claire quickly sidestepped the girl who crashed into the sand behind her. Claire reached for her hands to calm the poor teenager. Amanda was quick to roll over and lash out. She swung her fists at Claire's face and Claire was quick to back up but not too far. Amanda grabbed fistfuls of Claire's shirt to yank her closer, wanting desperately to hurt her even if she could not get hurt. She screamed wildly, part animalistic cries and part screaming, "you killed my mother. You killed my mother. It's your fault."

"I didn't. It's not my fault," Claire said though she did not completely believe it herself.

"It is," Amanda sobbed as she repeatedly hit Claire's face over and over. Claire could not feel it. It did not even sting no matter how much both girls wanted it to. Normally, Claire would take her lumps and work to her forgiveness and try to talk to this girl who got dealt an even worse hand than Claire herself.

But they were in a fight for Elle's freedom and life and Amanda's anger that had been simmering for all this time would not be sated and disposed of in one night. She had a job to do. With that Claire made a fist and punched wildly at Amanda as Amanda did the same. The difference was Claire was barely phased. Claire continued to punch until Amanda was bruised and bloodied and her head rolled limply to the side as her eyes fluttered closed.

Claire took stock of her surroundings. Mohinder was holding up surprisingly well against Rene but she felt Rene was just toying with the scientist. Elle was electrocuting Barbara torturously and playfully, careful to leave Barbara alive. The only fight their side was not winning was West's battle with Zach which was brutal and even sided.

Claire quickly stood and walked past Elle breathing, "Don't kill her," in regards to Barbara. She quickly pushed West away from Zach. Zach took this moment to take a desperately needed breath as Claire pushed West farther away and got in his face.

"How could you do this? You hate us that much? You hate me that much? Well, then don't fight Zach. Fight me. Fight me already. Don't hurt anyone else," Claire yelled in his face.

West's eyes softened into a once adorable puppy dog look at Claire. "I care about you, Claire. I always will. I meant what I said to you when we first met. I don't ever want to see you hurt."

Claire felt tears fill her eyes as he spoke and her own words became strained and choked in her throat. She could not bring herself to believe him this time. She did not know if she should have ever believed him at all. "Right. You care about me so much. That's why you can't stop breaking my heart."

West merely shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, Claire," before ducking his head, strongly gripping her face and pulling her lips to his.

"Hey!" Claire barely heard Zach say behind her along with his footfalls.

All Claire could pay attention to was the discomfort she was in and the horrible feeling in her gut as West latched his lips to hers after all his betrayal. She felt a building of energy in her palms growing exponentially fast as she moaned in displeasure. Just when she felt like her new power was about to erupt she felt West swiftly spin her body around in the opposite direction. He pulled his lips away and quickly ducked to the ground. The sudden disruption startled Claire so much that she let the electricity fly from her hands, accidently hitting Zach in the chest.

As his body dropped to the ground, West's voice rose up to her from where he was laying at her feet. "I really am sorry, Claire."

Claire was furious but without Zach her electricity was gone. Everyone was vulnerable. Claire's eyes flew to Rene in worry and he looked towards her, concerned with the disruption himself. Mohinder took advantage of this distracted moment by stumbling to a piece of driftwood from the beach and swinging it at Rene's head. Before a wide eyed Claire could voice a warning Rene had been hit and he was out.

Elle's eyes also became wide and fearful knowing that her two protectors could not offer her back up. Barbara who had been tortured over the last few minutes or seconds that Claire could not interpret properly gathered her last bit of strength and placed her hands on either side of where she was crumpled on the beach. In just a second, water was forming around her hands and quickly spread to pool where Elle stood, still tossing out electricity.

Just as Amanda began to blink away the dazed state Claire left her in, Elle was overcome with electricity that attacked her entire form. Elle collapsed to her knees and her hands dropped around Barbara's neck. Elle and Barbara both became overcome with the electrical charge until Barbara finally fell over, completely dead. Mohinder stood back, afraid to touch Elle in her current condition.

Amanda began to wail at the murder that just happened before her eyes. West instantly flew from his spot to where Amanda was on the beach, an uncontrollable explosion beginning to form in her hands. West flew her away to the sky so she would not hurt Mohinder or Barbara's body if she were to explode. He was risking his life to do that.

Claire instantly remembered being in Kirby Plaza when Nathan and Peter flew away to save the world. Nathan sacrificed himself to do what he believed was the right thing. In that moment, Claire remembered who her enemies were. They were people, people that she knew who believed they were doing the right thing.

Claire quickly ran to Zach and took off the knife attached to his belt. She cut along Zach's arm and cut her wrist as she had done so many times before. She quickly pressed her wound against his. Her wound healed very quickly and she only hoped he had gathered enough healing blood by the time that happened. After another terrifying several seconds she watched his arm wound heal and in another second he stirred and gasped.

She tenderly pressed the knife back into his palm as she told him, "You have to give everyone my ability again. You have to save everyone."

Claire quickly crawled away from him and walked toward Elle and pulled her from the water that was already being absorbed into the sand. The second Elle was in Claire's arms again she was fine, already healed. In another second, Claire looked over after hearing Mohinder collapse to the ground after Rene's hand was on his head.

Rene turned to Zach and demanded, "Give me the power of flight."

Zach stood up, obviously shaken by what happened to him but nodded and within moments Rene was in flight and chasing West and Amanda through the skies. They were like shooting stars at war and Claire wondered how long this could go on as she just sat there doing nothing. Finally, West and Amanda began to drop from the skies as Rene got close enough to block their powers.

Rene caught West and Amanda before they crashed to the ground. They both tried to fight him off but within seconds he had one hand on each of their heads and they both fell to the sand.

"You have to bring her back. Barbara, you have to bring her back," Claire said to Zach, not having the strength to stand up herself.

Zach walked toward her warily, horrified to see his former teammate so brutally taken down. "I don't know if my power works on- dead people."

"Find out," Claire said softly. She was unaware if Zach heard her but he sat down on the beach and lightly touched his fingers to her face. Everything was still for what felt like a long while when Barbara finally coughed and began to move with the blemishes now gone from her body and face.

"Huh," Elle uttered from her spot within Claire's arms. Claire was finally aware she had been holding Elle the whole time.

When Claire looked up again Rene had made his way across the beach and placed his hand on Barbara's head and lowered her back down to the ground.

"What just happened?" Zach asked as he looked as his former teammates strewn out across the beach.

"We just won," Rene said calmly.

Claire could not believe it. It was so surreal. What they just went through did not feel like winning.

"So, is Lazarus gone now?" Elle asked hopefully.

Rene shook his head as he looked around the beach. "No. The organization still exists somewhere. The people after you are gone now. You are safe."

Claire felt a smile cross her face as Elle did as well. They had finally managed to get her safe. Her power was misfiring but she had that fixed before. Things were looking up.

Claire finally released Elle from her protective hold and stood up. She held her hand out for Elle to take. Elle accepted the hand as she stood up.

"So, what happened to them? What do we do now?" Claire asked, suddenly and hopefully taking on an agent tone once again.

"I have just removed all their memories," Rene explained. "We'll have healers restore them once they are safely home. I will send out an emergency message that headquarters will get in the present. It will send Hiro Nakamura to pick these people up as well as Zach. They'll be sent to the present immediately. Elle will leave on a plane tonight."

"Where are we going?" Elle asked as she looked in between Claire and Rene.

Rene waved his index finger back and forth in disagreement. "No, no. We are not going anywhere. Just you Elle. You are safe now and cannot meet your destiny with us following you around the world."

Elle swallowed, not believing what she was hearing. "So, this is goodbye. I'll just be on my own?"

"Yes. Do not worry, Elle. You will be fine," Rene said. Claire knew he was thinking in the long term as Elle will not be fine but she will be on the path she needs to go on to prevent altering the future forever. She will run into the younger version of Claire and they will get on a plane together. They will go to Pinehearst and she will become entangled with Sylar. They will end up on the beach. Elle will die. Claire and Rene will bring her back. That is the plan and Elle cannot know it.

"Okay, well, I guess this is goodbye then. Bye Haitian," Elle said as she began walking back in the direction of civilization. Claire smiled at Elle's inability to connect as she walked toward Zach and wrapped him in a hug.

"Goodbye agent Zach."

"Goodbye agent Claire," Zach said as he held onto her for one more second before pulling away. A lot needed to be said but it did not need to be now. There were no words now.

Claire nodded to Rene and ran to catch up with Elle who was walking languidly along the beach. Claire did not know what to do, what to say or how to feel. She just could not help wondering over and over, what was there to do in the last night of paradise?


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Title: "The Road Not Taken"

Rating: PG-13 probably.

Pairings: Claire/Elle, Claire/Gretchen

Summary: When Claire goes back in time to save Elle, her relationship with Gretchen is threatened.

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show "Heroes."

Note: Takes place after "Brave New World." The past takes place after "The Butterfly Effect." Thank you Lied and She-Hulk from the BAM Board.

Claire and Elle walked along in silence for quite sometime. Claire could not speculate on Elle's thoughts and feelings but her own were unsurprisingly, completely self-involved. She wondered how broken she could be if after that terrible fight she felt absolutely giddy.

Claire spent most of the walk containing a smile. She had handled herself well. She was a good agent. Everyone was alive. Justice was about to be served and they won thanks to her and decisions she made.

The pair finally saw a building ahead of them and it turned out it was only the Berg mansion. They still had a good way to go to get to the airport. Claire realized she could not hold her happiness in for that long and began laughing.

Elle tossed Claire a sideways glance as if this reaction made her the crazy one of the pair but Claire still could not contain her laughter that bubbled over almost against her will.

"You are a lot happier than I expected you to be," Elle said dryly.

Claire shrugged her shoulders as she tried to put her feelings into words without lessening what they went through. "It's just we're alive. We made it. We won. We're freaking alive. Oh my God, we're just totally fine and alive!"

"Yeah, I guess we are. Your power is some trip, cheerleader," Elle said with a small smile.

Claire smiled at the familiar nickname and playfully bumped shoulders with Elle. "What was it like for you?"

Elle shrugged before turning her eyes skyward and biting her tongue between her teeth, obviously giving this issue some actual thought. "It was nice just feeling no pain whatsoever. I was just feeling totally and completely fine on the outside. I just always kind of thought if you and I switched places, if I had your power I would feel good about everyone, not have even a little bit of pain in my heart or in my emotions and it wasn't like that. I felt awful. I just felt awful being perfectly fine."

"Yeah, I always thought your power was this incredible uncontrollable thing but I guess that's just what I thought about you," Claire admitted as she looked toward Elle.

Elle looked down at her hands and watched the electricity connect from finger to finger. "Yeah, I guess that's just how I use it. It's the only toy my dad ever gave me, that I remember anyway."

Claire just shrugged and skipped along the beach. "Well, it's amazing. We are amazing. We were so amazing tonight. We could take on anything now. Our cover story, the beach, the ocean-"

That note Elle was quick to interrupt. "I am so not ready for the ocean yet."

Claire rolled her eyes as she spun around to face Elle. "Don't you see that we could do anything and be anything. We need to celebrate being alive. We could do whatever we want."

Without think Claire rushed forward and took Elle's face in her hands and kissed her. "We could take whatever we want."

Claire did nothing but think all the time and she lost everything she wanted and did not get it back. She lost normalcy, she lost her home, she lost feeling, she lost Elle, she lost Gretchen. Tonight she followed her impulses, lost everything and got it all back again. She was filled with adrenaline and a sense of invincibility that she never had a day in her life as an invincible person. She was ready to finally commit to getting lost.

And Elle was more than excited to help her. Elle was the girl on the everlasting sugar high who knew her powers and loved them. She was more than willing to experience what else life had to offer.

They kissed again, a little longer this time before pulling away. They both knew where this was going so they cut to the chase. They stripped off their shoes, socks, shirts, and bras, the blood stained, war stained clothing discarded to a location that Claire did not know or care about as she just wanted to get lost in Elle.

Elle was never a particularly a patient person herself and quickly grabbed Claire's face in her hands. They kissed sloppily, wetly, but softly. Taking their pants off was forgotten as they both longed to be lost in sensation. Claire pulled them backwards and let them crash into the sand so Claire was on her back.

Claire let Elle take control. This was not something she wanted to control or micro-manage, just feel with the epic passion that she saw in movies. Everything felt good and soft and smooth as she felt herself heating all over. The heat intensified about 1,000 percent as Elle's hand clumsily dipped against Claire's stomach and past the waistband of her underwear. Elle was a breath away from touching and claiming something that no one had before from Claire when a voice interrupted them sending them to a tragic halt.

"Claire?" Gretchen asked with emotion choking her voice.

It was the worst time. Not only were they in the throws of passion, they were disoriented and just out of a major life threatening fight. In less than a split second, Elle gathered all the electricity she had inside her and released it on Gretchen, killing her instantly.

As Claire watched Gretchen's lifeless body fall to the ground she felt her own heart stop beating as well. She pushed Elle off of her with rough disregard as she crawled over to Gretchen's body. She cradled her head gently, careful not to move her because she was not sure what would happen if she did.

"I need a knife. I need a knife," Claire muttered through her sobs. She was unsure when tears had welled in her eyes but it had happened.

"I don't have a knife. Why would I have a knife?" Elle asked as she threw her hands up in the air without anything to do with them.

Claire groaned like a wild animal as she crawled across the ground, digging her fingers through the once pristine sand now stained with blood. The seductive haze that had claimed her mind when she was about to couple with Elle was gone. It was replaced with a dull ache, a nauseam, a heart pounding painfully against her chest. Hot tears dripped off Claire's face as she crawled around on all fours searching for something sharp.

A shard of glass. It would have to do. She picked it up with both hands with worship as she frantically crawled back to Gretchen. Claire slit her wrist in a moment that seemed to take forever since the makeshift blade was not perfectly sharp. It was dull and odd shaped. She pushed it into her skin with all the force she could muster. At that moment she felt like she had the strength to lift a truck if she needed to. She lowered her wrist until it was less than a centimeter above Gretchen's wound. She let the blood flow in.

She was not sure if her ability was related to her blood or her brain or genetics or adrenaline. All the words and theories came up too often for her to do more than pretend to know what it was all about. She was not Sylar. She did not have an overwhelming need to know. She just knew that everything she was, all those factors that made her the healing girl were put to work for Gretchen. She would give her everything she had just to keep her from dying one more time.

Once the blood was in the wound and what was once charred black began to turn red, Claire began to have something in her head besides emotions, images and panic. She got up and walked across the sand and began to put her clothes back on and washed the blood off her hands in the ocean. She began to wonder things like if using a piece of glass for the blood transfer could lead to an infection but she was just hoping it would work to save Gretchen's life at all.

She also realized that Elle was still there, watching everything unfold and having put her clothes on after Claire did. She was going through all the motions.

Claire did not know what she had been thinking. Elle could not help it. Elle could not help but kill people. It was part of her true nature. It also got Gretchen killed right before Claire's eyes for the second time in about a week. Claire had invited this trouble onto Gretchen by bringing Elle into her life. It was time to put that to an end.

"You need to go," Claire said in a voice so low she could barely recognize it. She was not surprised when Elle's face snapped to hers. She did not have to see her to know where she was facing.

"What?" Elle asked.

Claire finally turned to Elle with exhausted eyes before repeating, "You need to go."

"What are you talking about? What are we going to do here?" Elle asked gesturing frantically between the three of them.

Claire talked quickly, hoping to finished the conversation before Gretchen woke up. Gretchen was badly hurt enough for such a small amount of blood to take time but not much.

"You have a plane to Costa Verde tonight. You know my Costa Verde address, right?" Claire asked, the adrenaline still pulsing through her veins.

"What are you talking about? What about just happened here?" Elle asked trying to stop the flow of this confusing conversation at a confusing time but Claire was unrelenting. She needed to get her message out.

Claire reached into her back pocket and found the small business card she had been saving and had put off giving. The card that could have been lost if she had done something like toss her pants into the ocean and lost herself in the passion with Elle earlier. It was all over now. Plans were back in motion. She had to let go.

"You need to go to my house," Claire said as she handed over the business card with the Pinehearst information and logo over into Elle, not waiting for her to understand anything that was happening. "My dad's files should start as a clue for how to proceed to find this place. It's for people with special powers in a way. They could fix you there, give you a job or something else. You can't accomplish anything with Rene and I guarding you but with past me maybe something..."

"You're not making any sense," Elle said as her confusion grew into irritation.

Claire sighed, her robotic defensive speech starting to crumble. It was starting to hit her. She was finally starting to break. She looked at Elle with dry eyes. She didn't mind being hated just to finish everything.

"You might run into me, the younger version of me. You've learned to trust me and on your trip we'll have to be close, but not too close. You need to save yourself. I protected you and I'm going to keep protecting you from here but I can't follow you where you're going. Goodbye Elle," Claire said with as much coldness she could put into the words as possible.

"How dare you treat me like this?" Elle asked as she poked a finger into Claire's chest.

"You killed someone I love. How did you expect me to react?" Claire shouted back, finally letting the anger and a few tears come through.

Elle scoffed helpless to understand any of the things Claire was throwing out in the conversation. She shouted back, "she's FINE."

"You killed someone I love," Claire violently shouted back, almost breaking down on every syllable. Any further argument was silenced as they finally noticed the sounds of Gretchen's frantic and uncontrollable movements.

"Goodbye Elle," Claire whispered. Elle fixed her with a hard look that fought her the whole way. That begged her to change the decision she was making to send Elle away. Claire refused to be turned. It was who she was. She felt everything too much until she could not feel anything at all. "Goodbye Elle."

Elle was less shocked and confused than she had been the entire conversation. That one point in all the seeming nonsense that Claire spoke was perfectly clear. "Yeah goodbye."

Elle turned and began to walk away in Rene's direction or perhaps she did not know where she was going. Claire did not have a lot of time to think about it when Gretchen shrilly screamed.

"What happened? Where is she going? What'd she do to me?" Gretchen asked as she scrambled to get to her feet and crossed her arms over her now bare chest. "We're covered in blood and parts of my clothes are gone.

Claire turned to her calmly and reached out to steady her. She felt almost dead inside after all the emotions of the last few minutes finally left her. "She didn't do anything to you. You fainted and now she's leaving because you dumped her, remember?"

Gretchen frowned as she searched the pieces of her memory for the truth. She pointed out an accusing finger at Claire as she stumbled backward. Claire continued to walk towards her despite the other girls' increasing panic. She did not care anymore.

"You were kissing Elle. You were going to have sex with her. Then there was a bright light and it hurt so much... but I'm fine. How did I get hurt? Why am I fine?" Gretchen was sobbing by the time she was done talking. Once she had been walking backwards for awhile, her back hit against the mansion and she slid down the wall as the terrified sobs continued to engulf her.

Claire got on her knees and wrapped her arms around Gretchen and buried her face in her shoulder. Gretchen continued to sob and fight for what felt like an eternity before giving up and surrendering weakly to the embrace.

Gretchen's cries on Claire's muffled ears were the only sounds for a long while until the sound of footsteps began to make their way across the beach.

Claire heard Rene somberly say, "I'm glad you're alive" to Gretchen before resting his hand upon her head. She screamed and writhed for a few seconds before going limp in Claire's arms. It was then Claire finally pulled away and looked at all she had left at the end of the day after that climatic fight. One woman she loved gone and the other brain wiped, half naked and unconscious on a nearly deserted beach.

It felt like Claire had nothing left at all.

She pushed back some of Gretchen's hair and stroked her face as she waited for her to come to. Rene stood by obviously not knowing what was happening and honestly Claire did not either.

When Gretchen's eyes slit open groggily Claire instantly knew in some part of herself what she needed to do and in classic Claire fashion just went right ahead and did it.

"Don't go to Arlington. Don't ever go to college there. Don't ever visit there. Do you understand me?" Claire asked. Gretchen just blinked at her dazed and confused from what just happened to her, not having any idea what Claire could be talking about anyway.

Claire wasn't finished. Losing Elle showed Claire she had to lose Gretchen too. Starting now. "I don't want to see you ever again."


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Title: "The Road Not Taken"

Rating: PG-13 probably.

Pairings: Claire/Elle, Claire/Gretchen

Summary: When Claire goes back in time to save Elle, her relationship with Gretchen is threatened.

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show "Heroes."

Note: Takes place after "Brave New World." The past takes place after "The Butterfly Effect." Thank you Lied and She-Hulk from the BAM Board.

The next week passed with a frighteningly slow and arduous pace as far as Claire was concerned. It was like being in a coma where your family members optimistically keep the television on in hope of the sound somehow reaching you. Life went on but Claire had trouble connecting to it. The events of the last few days left Claire emotionally gutted.

That night after she had delivered her message to Gretchen she watched Rene tuck the tall girl into her bed. She stood at the doorway and watched her sleep peacefully in clean sheets. She could not remember sleeping peacefully and innocently herself in quite some time. The fact that Gretchen could the second Claire tried to break their bond was enough to keep Claire from so much as trembling at the thought of saying goodbye to her forever.

Of course there was other motivation beyond her concern for Gretchen. That night as she went to sleep in her own bed she could find the seeds of her own annoyance growing. She stared at the ceiling and consciously tried to connect herself to some feeling, some memory. She knew at that moment Elle was in California, her trip probably expedited by Hiro to keep the timeline in tact. She was torturing Lyle to get back at Claire for her cruelty, searching the Bennet home for the answers Claire promised. They would fight and then Elle would go and make her younger self feel something. It was not the first something she felt for the electric blonde.

Claire slept fitfully and could not help but think of Gretchen lying perfectly in her bed. Countless times in the night Claire got up and marched to Gretchen's door before marching back to her own bed to make another failed attempt at sleep.

Each time her hand reached for the doorknob she wanted to turn it and leap into Gretchen's arms, but she never did. Gretchen was better off without her. And what gave her the right to fall into Gretchen's arms again?

If Gretchen had not interrupted... – she always sighed the moment that thought occurred. Honestly, she believed, if Gretchen had not interrupted everything would have been fine.

No, she could not go to her. It was not right.  
Claire's thoughts of Elle were quite similar. Elle was better off without her. She could not give her what she needed. If only she had never hurt Gretchen everything would have been fine, too. She could still think of her and feel something other than anger, something else than sadness for Elle never being safe enough to be around those Claire cared about.

Claire knew in her heart that she had been fooling herself all along. She was even fooling herself in blaming them. It was in Gretchen's nature to wander into harm's way and in Elle's nature to hurt people she should not. It was in Claire's nature to care about them despite those things though she should not.

Claire finally went to sleep that night and dreamed while she knew another version of herself was on that plane with Elle with the sparks flowing between them. It was a place so far from where she was in so many ways.

Claire went through the day as though she were a robot. She completed her tasks. It was the only place for her to linger. Gretchen tried to brush Claire with her fingertips, toss out compliments along with invitations to watch a movie, look at the stars from her room, go anywhere or everywhere that Claire wanted. Claire declined as she had to focus on her work as she should have been doing all along.

She felt as disconnected from Gretchen as she did from Elle as she thought of her memories of her time with the blonde and what she learned from the reports.

As she carried out her tasks at the Berg mansion, the younger version of her was helping carry Elle to the Pinehearst threshold only for Elle to leave her for whatever was beyond those walls that Claire never got to see herself.

Claire could not blame Elle for leaving her at Pinehearst. After all Claire had just put her through Elle had no reason to stay with her, no matter what incarnation. Elle would end up in a room with Sylar who she found sweet. He would not care who she hurt. He would just care until he did not want to anymore. It was only a few days really.

The next few days went on exactly that way. She did not count the days until she saw Elle again. Instead, she counted each day that Elle gave up on her in favor of Gabriel and Gretchen starting giving up on her in favor of low self-esteem. Claire continued to go about her days in the darkness and the loneliness. It went on and on until the two people that she lost got lumped in a pile with everything else she lost and then it became an unbearable weight to bare.

She did not know how much it broke her until it took control. One night when she was done for the day she walked right past her bedroom and right outside. She kept walking ever onward without knowing a destination, without knowing where she was or why.

She finally stopped at a rock formation. It was jagged and oddly formed and ever so dark even in the shining night sky and she could not help hating it. It was not beautiful or perfect. This was all she had left since she gave up everything else.

She was angry, so angry.

She could not have made all this happen. She could not have led herself to this place. What happened to the girl who was a cheerleader in Texas? That girl was gone. Claire lashed out at the rock formation and slammed it as hard as she possibly could. She was not the nicest girl back then but she was just a girl and that girl need to be mourned with as much force as she possessed because she was the only one who would ever mourn who that imperfect normal girl never got to be. Her hand healed perfectly with no sign of a wound. Not even a bit of pain to remember it by.

She would not live her life with this on her shoulders. Not this nothing. She could not live forever without anything, without feeling anything again.

She whipped her hand against the rocks for the baby that Meredith Gordon lost. Again for the baby the Petrelli's could have had if she had been kept. Again for the friend that Zach lost after she disappeared, for the parents she lost, the loves she lost to death and bitterness and everything that has the ability to rip people apart, the people and heroes that the world lost. Over and over and not so much as a scratch.

Claire was crying. Then she was screaming. She was screaming and she did not know what the words were or who she was speaking to or why. They just came out. It was the one cry that never got out. With each fevered word came another mutilation against herself that faded into cursed perfection.

"This makes no sense. My uncle had the power within him to destroy an entire city, the world. Like all of us. We all have the power to destroy everything. We always can. There are a million ways to fail. I am sick of it. I AM SICK OF IT. There can't be so many problems without an answer. There can't be so many failures without a single success. Everyone I have ever met has had the ability to control their power; feel whatever they want. Villians and heroes, even the people who were just living their lives. They could all do it. Even Elle is fixed by now. Her power is fixed by now. Not me. I can't stop healing. I can't feel... anything."

Claire's voice trailed off as she looked at her both her hands now resting at the rock formation. She was out of breath. The fist she had been raging with was bloodied... still bloodied... bloodied for a long while and she was still out of breath. Her hand was throbbing. It hurt so much...

She looked at the miracle in the blood. Her miracle was the miracle that stopped working but she never was normal. Why should this be any different?

She could not believe it. Absolutely not. She tentatively touched her palm. "Ouch."

She pulled her hand away before gasping. She cupped one hand under the other and stared at her miracle. An open wound that would not heal. The one that hurt. It still hurt. She let out a breath. This was the biggest thing that ever happened to her since her power first appeared and yet she was still so relaxed.

She finally concentrated on her healing and in an instant the wound was healed again and all the pain was gone. Fear instantly pierced her heart again. What if she just gave up the only time she would ever stop herself from healing.

Without waiting another second she once again punched her hand against the jagged rock formation. The wound began to heal right before her eyes but then she concentrated once again on finding that pain, that feeling, knowing this time was different that any experiment of pain she had tried since Sylar attacked her. This time her soul depended on it.

It stopped healing. It stayed as it was and began to hurt too. Claire dropped to her knees and cried. She had something to believe in again. Some power, some force, herself. She had control. She had a future. It was one where she did not have to watch anyone die. She would not suffer immortality alone if she did not want to. She was not alone anymore.

That thought brought her to her feet and she let herself heal. She had a future with a beginning, middle and end. She could live forever or just live enough and be a human who happens to have a special ability and she did not want to waste any time enjoying that fact. She certainly did not want to enjoy it alone.

She quickly got to her feet and ran across the wide expanses of land. She was sure she should have gotten lost a few times but she moved swiftly back to the mansion as if something was leading her there and she felt that she knew what was. Her whole world changed and the first thing she wanted to see was Gretchen.

She ran back into the house and ran straight into Gretchen's room. She closed the door and rested her back against it. She was sure she looked wild and crazy having faced the elements with such abandon. At least she still had enough sense to wipe her blood off on the back of her clothes before Gretchen could see.

A million emotions seemed to cross Claire's face at once as she processed all that was happening and had happened. Her whole life had changed. It was everything she had been working towards for the last five years. She had to hit rock bottom, want and need this more than anything to have control. She had to be willing to sacrifice anything to get there and she finally got control of her power. It was not something easy to process but she had to process it quickly and on her own.

Gretchen took the confusing interruption as anger on Claire's part and was quick to pause the "Crossing Jordan" video that was streaming on her computer and get up from her chair to calm down Claire. She held up her hands defensively and was quick to speak to defend herself. "Look, I'm sorry I've still been hitting on you lately. I just liked you and... I don't know what I thought. I'll leave you alone now. I promise."

Claire shook her head at Gretchen's ability to jump to conclusions and rushed across the room to press a kiss to the taller girl's lips. Gretchen's arms lightly wrapped around her in an instant, trying to keep her close despite her promise not to.

Claire pulled away and though Gretchen looked scared that she did this, Claire merely smiled and circled her arms around Gretchen's neck. "I never thought I could have this with you. I never thought I could have this at all. Now I can."

"You always could," Gretchen quickly assured her, probably thinking Claire was having some kind of issue with Gretchen's monetary status. Claire knew it was better she thought that for awhile.

"I know that now," Claire assured her as she dropped her hands and ran them along Gretchen's arms before stroking her shoulders. "Now we can have what we deserve. What we both do."

Gretchen bit her lip before tentatively asking, "what's that?"

"Everything," Claire whispered against Gretchen's lips before kissing her again. Gretchen greedily accepted. Claire was not taking this time with Gretchen for granted and neither was Gretchen. With that in mind Claire felt comfortable to move forward. Things were finally as they should be.

She pulled away again and took one of Gretchen's hands in hers and lead her to the bed. She heard Gretchen breathing heavily and briefly worried the brunette would hyperventilate before anything happened. Claire jumped on the bed and pulled her legs under her so she was in a sitting position. She pulled the rubber band out of her hair and fluffed it up a bit as Gretchen stared at her mesmerized with her lips parted.

"I want this. I want you. I just need to know that you want this too," Claire said earnestly.

Gretchen's eyes widened as she quickly scrambled to get on the bed with Claire, nearly losing her balance many times in the short time she spoke. "No, I want this. I want this more than anything right now."

"Then I'm ready," Claire whispered as she began to unbutton her uniform. Claire's eyes did not leave Gretchen's as the uniform made its way off of her body.

Gretchen gulped. She could not believe what was happening but Claire felt it was a long time coming and Gretchen was kind enough not to say much at the moment if she was even capable.

Claire began to remove her bra when Gretchen quickly reached around and grabbed her hands, stopping her.

"No, I want to do it," Gretchen said beyond her usual level of intensity. It made Claire's breath catch in her throat as she dropped her hands and let Gretchen pull the thin material from her shoulders. She stopped before it was all the way off to focus on Claire's eyes once again. "Are you sure?"

Claire nodded but knew this moment required something more than that so she finally voiced a "yes," that was filled with the surprising amount of sureness that she felt.

The confirmation was all that Gretchen needed as she pressed her lips to Claire's again. Hours passed but the time meant nothing to Claire as she got to be with Gretchen, really be with her for the first time. Gretchen was gentle, loving and devoted. Claire got to feel making love and everything it entailed- something she had almost given up on before this mission. It was the sensations that overloaded her senses, took her out of her mind but love was the strongest thing she could feel.

Claire lied awake after and gazed at Gretchen who tried desperately to stay awake. Claire wanted to stay in this moment and hold onto what she had. She felt like a whole new unexplored world lived in the confines of this bed and she had no desire to leave it but Elle needed her in some other part of the world and she needed to be there.

"I'm just resting my eyes. I'm not asleep," Gretchen groggily declared as her eyes finally slid completely closed.

Claire rose and pressed a quick kiss to Gretchen's head before peering over at the clock on the night stand. She had trouble reading the Dalek clock before her but after peering at it for awhile she realized it was time to go which meant Rene had already started going room to room, wiping the minds of the Bergs. Gretchen would be last on his list. Claire asked that it be that way.

She quickly sat up in bed and searched the room. She fetched her bra which ended up on a bookcase and her underwear ended up on the diorama of planets- Uranus specifically if Claire was paying attention but she was in too much of a rush.

She slipped the maid's uniform back on before crawling across the bed and shaking Gretchen into consciousness. "Hey, hey, Gretchen. Wake up. It's important. I'm leaving."

"Don't go back to your room," Gretchen grumbled sleepily with one eye open, trying to focus on Claire in the darkness.

Claire shook her head while still shaking Gretchen into further alertness. "I'm not leaving your room. I'm leaving Barbados."

"What?" Gretchen asked, unsteadily pushing herself up on her elbows.

"I have a friend in trouble. Her boyfriend has been... hurting her and I have to help. Rene is already saying goodbyes to the family and letting them know we'll be gone. I just needed to tell you something. Go to Arlington," Claire said in a panicked rush.

"What?" Gretchen repeated as she sat up straighter and got more confused the more awake she became.

Claire took Gretchen's hand in hers. "I want you to go to Arlington University next year. I'll be going there. I want you to find me. I can't really explain what's going on but I won't remember you then. I won't remember any of this but I want you in my life so you have to promise to come find me, okay? We can have this again."

Gretchen firmly latched onto Claire, afraid of why she would run away from her. "I still don't understand-"

Claire cut her off with a sudden kiss that would not last as long as she wanted but would have to hold her over for awhile, though she was aware it might be the last time she saw Gretchen alive. She was near tears when she heard the doorknob slowly turn.

"I have to go now. Goodbye," Claire said as she quickly ran off the bed. Gretchen began to follow, not letting go of her grip on her.

"Please, you've got to let me go. I love you," Claire whispered meaningfully. The declaration was enough to stun Gretchen into letting her go and Claire quickly took her opportunity to make her way to the door and quickly exit. She mouthed 'I'm sorry' as she left.

She firmly closed the door behind her and looked at Rene's waiting eyes. "You can't wipe her."

"Claire-" Rene began but Claire cut him off.

"I can't let you wipe her. I just can't. I'm sorry. She won't say a word. She won't interfere with the timeline. If you trust me at all, trust that. Please Rene," Claire pleaded.

Things were silent. Claire was prepared to fight him in that moment. She knew that.

Finally he said, "We can't miss our flight."

He began to walk away and Claire knew that meant he agreed to her proposal. Gretchen was safe. Elle needed her. It was time to move forward.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Title: "The Road Not Taken"

Rating: PG-13 probably.

Pairings: Claire/Elle, Claire/Gretchen

Summary: When Claire goes back in time to save Elle, her relationship with Gretchen is threatened.

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show "Heroes."

Note: Takes place after "Brave New World." The past takes place after "The Butterfly Effect." Thank you Lied and She-Hulk from the BAM Board. This chapter wasn't beta-ed due to the holidays. Sorry guys!

They parked a few miles away. They knew Sylar had superhearing at this point. He would be emotional and distracted because of Elle but he would not be blind. They needed to be close enough so Rene could block his powers at least for a little while. It was risky but it was a risk they needed to take for Elle. Rene and Claire had been walking along the beach for some time now, each lost in their respective thoughts.

She always knew there was an off switch for her power. It could be turned off with an eclipse or a power like Rene's. Every power that could turn on could also turn off. Adam Monroe was the only other immortal Claire had ever heard of out of hundreds of years. Someone had to have been able to find their off switch over the course of time.

Claire just could not believe she had finally found hers. She had Godlike powers but never felt that way. She was owned by the power, not the other way around. Until now. She was unsure what the consequences of that concept could be.

She knew that Rene thought his powers were from God and therefore good. However after all she had known that he had seen that could not be all there was to it. "Do you know of anyone who thought their powers made them a God?" Claire finally asked before looking over at Rene.

He was deep in concentration and looked terrified at the interruption. Claire suddenly felt stupid. From what Claire heard Rene could barely contain her grandfather's power. The thought of facing Sylar without Zach's power sharing ability was probably terrifying to Rene. They could not risk keeping Zach around. The fewer amount of people running around in the wrong time the better. You could never tell who would get hurt. With that in mind Claire did not expect a productive answer in circumstances like those they were in.

Rene surprised her when he calmed down and straightened up a little. "Do you remember one day your father had perfect eyesight and then when he came back from his next business trip he needed glasses?"

Claire nodded as she thought back to that day. Everything was pigtails and innocence back then. She did not feel as though she fit into the world even then but when her dad came home he always brought a new teddy bear and spent time with her. That day he let her pick out his glasses.

"I remember I asked him if he was sad that he had to wear glasses all of a sudden. He said he was looking forward to it because then he could see me again. I thought he was the best dad ever. It was only a little later that day that he told me I was adopted," Claire remembered almost tearfully at the easier times. She blinked the emotion away as she refocused on Rene. "Why did you bring it up?"

"On that mission, we met a man who thought his powers were of God. He killed many people and knocked me unconscious. Your dad saved my life, his life and the lives of the Butler family that was being held hostage by that man and lost his perfect eyesight as a price. God is in all things but the misuse of power is a flaw of man that seems to affect certain members of our kind in a vicious way. Why did you ask me that just now?" Rene asked as he looked back at her.

Claire could not lie and say nothing. He just seemed to know what she was feeling. However, she did not know what she was feeling. The previous night did not even feel real. She knew the moon was in the sky and no one was around for miles but how could she know for sure that her dream came true?

"Something happened. I think I can control my power. I think I can turn it on and off," Claire admitted. It suddenly felt like a weight was lifted off her chest at that moment; one she did not realize she was carrying. However, her panic began anew as she waited for her friend's response.

Rene was silent for a moment. "You think?"

"Well, the possibility that I'm having some kind of emotional breakdown is more likely than anything," Claire admitted. Rene nodded and Claire began to doubt herself.

Claire looked into long expanse of beach knowing she would not find answers anytime soon- "Ouch."

She quickly reached down and grabbed her hand which had been pricked with the end of Rene's knife. She applied pressure to her small wound. "What is wrong with you? Are you racing me to see who blows this mission first? Because if so, I'm am so far beyond disappointed."

Rene shrugged and almost smiled before he remembered where they were and why they were there. They never stopped walking. "I was just pointing out your power didn't start working."

"Obviously," Claire gritted petulantly. She liked the times when her power was not working and she could feel everything. It was why Rene was her favorite drinking buddy but stabbing her at a time like this was just in bad taste in Claire's opinion.

"My point is that your power was off and so was mine," Rene replied.

"Oh," Claire said quietly to herself before the realization gloriously hit her. "Oh."

"Congratulations," Rene said despite his grimness of their situation. Claire nodded. It was enough for now. She still had more questions about everything but they would come in their own time.

"I am going to turn my power back on and focus all my energies on Sylar. I suggest you do the same," Rene commented as he kept his eyes straight forward.

Claire looked at her hand and concentrated with all she had in her. The cut closed instantly. She was healing again and it could not have happened at a better time.

The two specks appeared on the horizon. Claire let herself slow.

Of course, one of the specks was Sylar. This was not the reformed man of her time. This was not Elle's Gabriel. This was the man who overpowered and defeated Claire with a knife in his chest and that was back when he could die. This was the man who just lost all hope of family and being good. He lost hope of love in favor of being broken.

The worst was what it had caused him to do. Claire knew she would not see it. No, she would not see the act that she never wanted to. She saw Gretchen die twice but she would never see Elle die. It would be too much especially after all that had happened in the previous days.

Claire knew that Elle had died almost immediately after Claire was whisked away with Hiro through time. He rescued her. As much as Claire felt for Elle she knew what might have happened had she been taken away by Sylar and Elle. Despite being disappointed at the sight of them together Arthur had almost killed Peter. He was only alive thanks to Gabriel and it was only a short time later that Gabriel became Sylar again. Claire probably would not have lived without Hiro but would Elle have made it?

It was time to find out. It was light out by the time Sylar decided to burn Elle up. Perhaps he wanted to see it. Perhaps he wanted to see her. Claire could not understand how he could stomach it.

The sight of Elle lying there on the beach, so prepared to be burned up like a piece of meat, it made Claire sick. She wanted to drop to her knees and lay on the ground to calm her nausea. It was exactly what she did because it was part of the plan- without the nausea.

They could not put the plan into action while Sylar's back was turned. They could not let Sylar know there was a chance that Elle was alive. Absolving him of the crime might make him a different man or he might find a way to go through time to get her back again. They did have a relationship that spanned a few years after all. No, they had to let Sylar think she was dead and that they were after him, that he needed more power. It was the path he was already on and they had to make sure he stayed on it.

She stayed in her place on the ground, just watching everything happen and trying to hold her breath as long as possible. She did not want to make any noise.

Rene attempted to creep up behind Sylar as he was engrossed with his tasks. It was a race against time for Elle's life but Rene's life was also on the line if he did not get the one up on Sylar. Rene was fearless and unrelenting in his approach but Claire could not feel more scared. She never worried for her own life but where her loved ones were concerned Claire was terrified. After all she had seen and those who she had seen dead in just the last few days Claire was more on edge than usual. With every step that Rene took closer to Sylar, Claire could swear her own heartbeat was growing louder and faster. She just hoped she was the only one who could hear it.

Time seemed to move at an excruciatingly slow pace. Claire was not sure what she would do if the worst happened. She would not be surprised if the fabric of her world would just tear apart if things went wrong.

Then it happened. Claire did not hear a thing. She did not hear a damn thing but apparently Sylar did. Just as Sylar raised his hand to burn Elle to a crisp- maybe Rene made it happen to save Elle or maybe his clumsiness was caused by an angel in Elle's corner, one that had abandoned her a long time ago- his foot hit the sand and Sylar heard it. He spun around.

Claire stayed in the sand. She was the contingency plan. If everything went wrong Claire had to be there to save Elle. If there was one last thing that Claire would do it would be saving Elle. So Claire stayed there and ran her hands through the sand and cursed its inconsistency. She needed something to hold on to. It felt like the world was upside down and she was going to fall off of it at any second.

Sylar waved his hand and nothing happened. He looked at it as Rene began to rush at him, prepared to knock him down. This was just after the eclipse happened. Sylar was as aware of his powerlessness as he could possibly be. He did not stand a chance against her dad and would not stand a chance against Rene. He looked at Elle's lifeless body next to him. Claire knew in that moment he remembered just how alone he really was. He was alone and in the middle of nowhere and powerless. Claire knew the feeling. She remembered feeling that way and knowing she would not wish that on anyone.

She was not sure how she felt now. She just knew that everything was working.

His moment of loneliness past and his survival instinct kicked in. Claire imagined that sacrificing yourself when you did not think you would come back was a hard thing. Her dad had just slit his neck with a box cutter only a day before. They knew he would not be willing to die again so suddenly.

He turned and he ran as fast as he could and Rene chased him just the same. Rene would make no attempt to catch him. That would defeat their purpose but he chased him down the road. The road would lead him to some poor woman on her birthday who would find out she was not long for this world along with her friends. Saving a human lie detector and her coworkers could cost thousands of lives if changed. Claire had to take time to consciously remind herself of that or she could not let it stand.

As Claire rose and began running to Elle, she mentally said goodbye to some woman she would never meet who would die because Sylar wanted a new power after killing Elle. Mindful of that woman's sacrifice she ran to save another life, in hopes it would right things even a little bit. Claire knew things would be right for her.

Once Claire reached Elle she did not waste any time. Elle would not stay that way any longer. Not on Claire's watch. She produced the syringe from her pocket. It was already filled with her own blood to avoid wasting even a second. She plunged the syringe into Elle and waited for her blood to work its magic one final time on this mission.

Elle instantly shot upwards and began screaming and crying wildly. At first it was almost incoherent groans but as she came back everything came back. Claire instantly wrapped her arms around her and held her steady as the older girl fought her. Unlike her embrace with Gretchen after bringing her back from the dead Claire did not ignore the other girl's emotions but remained strong.

"I thought... but he hurt- he killed me. I thought-" Elle cried, the terror keeping her going as her skull came back together.

"You're safe now. I've got you," Claire said as she pulled back and stroked the newly healed skin.

Tears streamed down Elle's face as she spoke. "I thought I had a second chance."

"You do. You're safe now. I've got you," Claire said when a shadow appeared next to them on the sand. Claire knew who it was and turned to check on Rene who was walking back from the road. He nodded to Claire. Sylar went about his own way, continued on his path without coming back for Elle. The timeline was still in tact and they got their girl back in the process.

The mission was a success.

Rene put his arms around the girls and Hiro did the same on the other side.

With a friendly smile Hiro turned to Elle and said, "It is very nice to see you again. Sorry about all this."

Elle merely nodded, surprisingly not angry about how Hiro abandoned her there in the first place. Her eyes turned back to Claire and the Haitian. Claire smiled as big as she could hoping all the comfort and love she was trying to convey would come through. Somehow she was confident it did.

The surroundings changed. In a second they were home.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Title: "The Road Not Taken"

Rating: PG-13 probably.

Pairings: Claire/Elle, Claire/Gretchen

Summary: When Claire goes back in time to save Elle, her relationship with Gretchen is threatened.

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show "Heroes."

Note: Takes place after "Brave New World." The past takes place after "The Butterfly Effect." Thank you Lied and She-Hulk from the BAM Board. This chapter also wasn't beta-ed due to the holidays. Sorry guys! This is the end of the road in more ways than one. Thanks for reading guys. It's been fun. Enjoy the final chapter.

"Is that it?" Angela asked.

Claire slowly nodded as she finally took a moment to take a breathe. She got the whole story out in a rush in hopes of getting to the hospital sooner. Claire knew she would get some disapproval from Angela for how she handled the mission but Angela was not one to judge much after all she had done. Not with Claire at least.

Angela folded her hands together and leaned slightly over the desk to look at Claire. "You seem different."

Claire raised an eyebrow. She was not ready to discuss her new control of her power yet. It was all too new and would require long meetings and tests and studies when there were people who needed her now. She was scared though. Her grandmother had a way of seeing through everyone even in her dreams.

"What happen to that anger that is always smoldering behind your eyes? Did someone suddenly find peace?" Angela said with what was a terrifying but teasing smile.

Claire stayed silent for a moment before tentatively admitting, "I'm getting there. The right person will help."

"And you now know who that is," Angela said as she closed the report on the mission. It was a statement, not a question. Claire was more sure now that her grandmother knew something was different about her, something important. She was giving her a pass because in her own twisted way Angela always did try to take care of her family. Claire planned to take advantage of the opportunity in front of her. She planned in indulging in all the little pleasures of the moment from now on.

"I do know who it is," Claire allowed with a smile. Letting the right people in had benefits.

Angela smiled wider as well. It was the most Claire had said to Angela about any romantic involvement she had that did not end up in some report somewhere. Claire was changing in more ways than one.

"Then go," Angela instructed.

Claire did not wait another second to comply. She was instantly out the door and on her way to the hospital. She was not sure how many speeding tickets she risked getting on the way there but she did not have the best luck with cars anyway.

When she reached the hospital she searched for a familiar face and found Rene dutifully sitting in the hallway. She had no idea how he beat her there but there he was when she needed him as always.

She walked up to him and was tempted to hug him but they had only been apart for a few hours since returning.

Rene stood when she approached. "I've just been to see Elle and Gretchen. They're both awake and talking."

"Awake," Claire repeated softly to herself. No matter how many times she saw them come back to life Claire felt she would still be worried. The joy she felt knowing they were safe and sound and awake was almost overwhelming.

Claire shook herself out of it. "So, how are they?"

"They're well," Rene said. At Claire's frown at his few words he continued. "I checked in with Gretchen. She's trying to be rational but I'm afraid her death upset her quite a bit."

The sentence made Claire want to chuckle but the reality of what it meant took the humor right out of her. "And Elle?"

"She's doing well. And I... properly introduced myself to her with my actual name," Rene said, almost shyly at how long it took him to get around to it.

"And?" Claire prompted encouragingly.

"She liked it," Rene smiled. It was odd but nice when he did that and she was sure it was not the whole story but their conversations belonged to them.

"It's a good name," Claire assured him. "It means reborn, doesn't it? We could all use that right now."

Small talk was over. They were both too drained for it after all they had been through. Rene spoke again before Claire could even voice the question he was about to answer. "They are in rooms 109 and 110."

"That's right across from each other." Claire concluded needlessly.

It seemed that her friend almost wanted to laugh at the predicament but held it together long enough to speak again. "I'll wait here."

Claire began to walk down the hall with a smile on her face. It was a brave new world and she gave smiles to the people who lined the halls. She was willing to face them and everything. She was the girl who walked through fire and didn't get burned and she finally felt that way, the way her mom thought she had meant it all those years ago. She had love and friends and they would all heal and they would do it together. She had traveled the road not taken and came out on the other side and it was worth it. She saw everything in the journey that she never got to see before even the stars on the ceiling.

Claire stopped in between the two rooms knowing she was going to have to have two hard conversations ahead of her. One she hoped was going to build a romance and one she could only hope was going to build a new friendship after all was said and done. She wanted the two girls in her life in some form or another and would fight to keep them and not abandon either of them but something more important happened as she stood between the two rooms. She knew.

Her choice was made.

It was a new life and a new start for all of them. The end of the journey was only the beginning.

The End


End file.
